Uniform Electronic Transactions Act
The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) is one of the several Uniform Acts proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). Its overarching purpose is to bring into line the differing state laws over such areas as retention of paper records (checks in particular), and the validity of electronic signatures, thereby supporting the validity of electronic contracts as a viable medium of agreement.
Before adoption of this act, most states required banks to retain physical copies of all checks they process. Obviously, keeping these checks in electronic form only would vastly simplify storage and access concerns for banks. UETA aims to rectify this by streamlining and unifying these to laws to allow for electronic retention. In much the same fashion, UETA addresses the need to retain paper copies of other records and contracts, effectively giving legally binding status to electronic documents and signatures.
At least 28 states have adopted UETA.