eSignature Beta Terms

These eSignature Beta Terms (“eSignature Terms”) apply to your use of the pre-general release version of Google Doc and Google Drive's beta feature for electronic signature of documents (“eSignature Beta”). These eSignature Terms are service-specific additional terms and are in addition to and supplement the Google Terms of Service and Google Workspace Individual Additional Terms of Service (collectively “Workspace Individual Terms”). For the purposes of the Workspace Individual Terms, the eSignature Beta is a feature of Docs and Drive and is regarded as part of the “Google Workspace Individual Products.” In the event of any conflict between these eSignature Terms and the Workspace Individual Terms, these eSignature Terms will govern solely with respect to the eSignature Beta to the extent of the conflict.

Google will grant you, subject to your compliance with these eSignature Terms, a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the eSignature Beta during its pre-general release. If you cancel your subscription to Google Workspace Individual, you may continue to receive access to the eSignature Beta for some period of time after the end of your subscription and these eSignature Terms will continue to apply to that access.

Google is not a party to documents executed with the eSignature Beta

The eSignature Beta is a means by which a party can execute contracts and other documents sent to them using the service. Any document executed using the eSignature Beta is only between the parties to that document. By using the eSignature Beta, you are consenting to conduct transactions electronically through the service with the other party to the document.

You control who you do business with

If you are sending a document for signature, make sure you send it to the correct person’s email address and that they have the authority to execute the document. Make sure you confirm the document is shared with the right people before sharing for signature. If you are receiving a document to sign, make sure you have confirmed the sender’s identity. Anyone that has access to an email account receiving an eSignature request (with or without permission of the account owner) will be able to sign it until the link expires (such as if the signature request is canceled). Additionally, Google account holders who update their email address will be able to sign documents you sent to their old email address (assuming the new and old emails are still both tied to the same underlying account). So, you should ensure that the right person is receiving the link and signing. Be aware too that your counterparty may need to agree to Google terms before signing the document.

You control the contents of your documents

You are solely responsible for ensuring documents you send or receive through the eSignature Beta for execution represent the complete and final understanding of your agreement with your counterparty.

Each party should review and agree on the draft of a document before it is executed through the eSignature Beta. Don’t make any changes to the document without informing the other party and giving them a chance to review the changes before the document is executed. As part of finalizing the document with the other intended party, all suggested edits and comments in the document must be resolved before execution. Also, don’t add a comment to a signed PDF file, it could create a new file that affects the integrity of the underlying agreement or otherwise cause confusion for you and your counterparty regarding the final agreement.

You control what documents are executed

While electronic signatures in many jurisdictions can often be treated as the equivalent of a traditional wet ink signature, you are responsible for ensuring that your particular contract may be executed electronically. Please consult a lawyer if you have any questions about the use of electronic signatures for your contract in your jurisdiction and to confirm any other requirements a party needs to comply with when executing a document electronically.

Not all documents will be eligible for electronic signature in every jurisdiction. For example, common categories of documents that jurisdictions will require wet ink signatures for are trusts, wills, codicils, powers of attorney and deeds. Consult with a lawyer in your jurisdiction to ensure any document you are planning to have executed through the eSignature Beta will be enforceable in your jurisdiction.

If a person is acting on behalf of a legal entity when sending or signing the document, then that entity would be a party to the document instead of the individual. If a person is supposed to be acting on behalf of an entity, you should make sure that person has the authority to bind that entity to the executed document.

Copies and storage of electronic documents

While Google will attempt to send an email to all parties with a copy of the executed document and place a copy in each party’s Drive accounts, Google cannot guarantee that all parties will receive such copies. For example, your (or your counterparties’) email settings may prevent receipt of the copy. As a result, you are solely responsible for retaining a copy of the executed agreement for your own records and for confirming with your counterparties that they have also received a copy for their records. You should retain any email you receive from the eSignature Beta that contains the executed document as it may be useful later on for helping to establish what was signed.

Not all parties may receive copies of executed documents (e.g., copies may not be sent due to technical error, Drive Storage limits, or spam filters could reject the email with the executed copy.) So, follow-up with parties to ensure that everyone received a copy. If the executed document remains accessible to parties through the eSignature Beta, ensure that you and the other parties have retained a separate copy of the document before deleting the file or changing access permissions.

Google cannot guarantee that a copy of the executed documents will always be available through its services (e.g., in the case where you delete your Google account). To ensure you retain a copy of all documents executed with the eSignature Beta, you should independently store a copy of all executed documents.

Because the eSignature Beta is a pre-general release offering, there is a chance that you could lose online access to or not receive a copy of a document you executed. Do not rely on the eSignature Beta for online storage of your executed documents - make sure to retain a separate offline copy after execution. Note too that during the pre-release period, you should not rely on Google’s standard export process to obtain copies of signed files, as those files will be an unsupported data type.

Business uses only; Same Jurisdiction

You may only use the eSignature Beta for business purposes and not for any personal, family or household purposes. You must also only send to (or execute contracts sent from) counterparties that are in the same legal jurisdiction as you.

Signature Information and Document Access

Copies of documents executed with the eSignature Beta contain certificate-based signatures that help identify the parties. The accompanying document metadata (and any audit log that may be provided by the eSignature Beta) may include the email address of each party as well as other information about the document, the Google account (like a pseudonymized identifier tied to that account), the device used by the party (like IP address) and other details (like time and date). Anyone with access to the underlying document will have access to this information along with the signed document.

Adobe Reader and Acrobat warning

If you use Adobe Reader or Acrobat to open a document signed with our eSignature Beta, you may receive a warning about issues with a signature in the document. Adobe’s statements regarding validity of signatures relate only to the certificate Google uses to digitally sign the document and do not relate to the signing party’s signature.

You can avoid seeing this warning by manually selecting to trust the certificate (which is named “Google <[email protected]>” using the following steps:

Click “Signature Panel” in the bar at the top of your document that states “at least one signature has problems.”
Expand the dropdown for the signature listing with yellow warning symbol displayed next to it which says “Signed by Google <[email protected]>”
Expand the “Signature Details.”
Click “Certificate Details.”
Select the certificate named “Digicert Assured ID Root G3” from the listing on the left, select the Trust tab, and then click “Add to Trusted Certificates.”
Confirm your choice to trust the certificate.
Select “Validate All” from the Signature Panel to validate your executed document using the newly trusted signature, or reload Adobe Reader or Acrobat.
The bar at the top of your document should now read “Signed and all signatures are valid.” with a green checkmark.

Pre-general release service

The eSignature Beta is a pre-general release service being tested by Google. Until your access is removed (such as in connection with cancellation of your Google Workspace Individual subscription), your use of the eSignature Beta will continue to be governed by these eSignature Terms. The eSignature Beta may, at any time and without prior notice, be modified, suspended, unavailable or discontinued. You specifically acknowledge that as a pre-general release service, the eSignature Beta may be more prone to errors or inaccuracies. Google disclaims all warranties regarding the eSignature Beta, including that it will be fit for your particular purposes. Google has no obligation to generally release a version of the eSignature Beta, and any generally released version may have significantly different functionality than the pre-general release version.

As the eSignature Beta is a pre-general release service, Google will not be liable to you for damages of any kind arising from your use of the eSignature Beta. This limitation of liability is in addition to, and not in lieu of, those found elsewhere in the Workspace Individual Terms.

Deletion

You should ensure that you and your counterparties have access to any executed documents before deleting. If you choose to delete documents created or signed with the eSignature Beta, it may take longer for us to remove all associated material than other Drive material while in pre-general release.

Brazil Users

There may be heightened enforceability risks associated with use of documents executed with the eSignature Beta in your jurisdiction. You should consider these risks with a licensed attorney before using the eSignature Beta.

Disclaimer

Any information and warnings provided in these terms regarding the enforceability of electronically signed contracts are for general information purposes only and are not intended to serve as legal advice. Google cannot and does not guarantee that use of the eSignature Beta will lead to an enforceable contract in your jurisdiction. You should consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction if you have questions about use of electronic signatures and electronic contracts.

These eSignature Terms together with the Workspace Individual Terms (“Agreement”) state all the terms applicable to your use of the eSignature Beta. You agree that you will not have any right or remedy based on any statement, representation, or warranty (whether made negligently or innocently), except those expressly stated in the Agreement.

eSignature Beta Signer Terms

These eSignature Beta Signer Terms (“eSignature Signer Terms”) apply to your use of the pre-general release version of Google Doc and Google Drive's beta feature for electronic signature of documents (“eSignature Beta”).

These eSignature Signer Terms are service-specific additional terms and are in addition to and supplement the Google Terms of Service (“Google Terms”). For the purposes of the Google Terms, the eSignature Beta is a feature of Docs and Drive and is regarded as part of the “Services.” In the event of any conflict between these eSignature Signer Terms and the Google Terms, these eSignature Signer Terms will govern solely with respect to the eSignature Beta to the extent of the conflict.

These eSignature Signer Terms do not, however, supersede, amend or otherwise affect other agreements you may have with us related to the eSignature Beta. If you agree to terms related to the eSignature Beta in connection with your Google Workspace account, those terms (and not these eSignature Signer Terms) will apply to your use of the eSignature Beta whether you initiate a document for signature or receive a document for signature.

Google grants you, subject to your compliance with these eSignature Signer Terms, a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the eSignature Beta during its pre-general release for the purpose of electronically signing documents you have received for execution via the eSignature Beta.

Google is not a party to documents executed with the eSignature Beta

You control who you do business with

Before you execute any document using the eSignature Beta, make sure you have confirmed the sender’s identity. Anyone that has access to an email account used to send or receive a document link (with or without permission of the account owner) will be able to execute on behalf of that email account. So, you should ensure that the right person is sending you a link before you sign. Additionally, If you are a Google account holder and you update your email address, you will be able to sign documents sent to that old email address (assuming the new and old emails still are both tied to the same underlying account).

You control the contents of your documents

Each party should review and agree on the draft of a document before it is executed through the eSignature Beta. Don’t make any changes to the document without informing the other party and giving them a chance to review the changes before the document is executed. As part of finalizing the document with the other intended party, all suggested edits and comments in the document must be resolved before execution. Also, don’t add a comment to a signed PDF file, it could create a new file that affects the integrity of the underlying agreement or otherwise cause confusion for you and your counterparty regarding the final agreement.

You control what documents are executed

Not all documents will be eligible for electronic signature in every jurisdiction. For example, common categories of documents that jurisdictions will require wet ink signatures for are trusts, wills, codicils, powers of attorney and deeds. Consult with a lawyer in your jurisdiction to ensure any document you are planning to have executed through the eSignature Beta will be enforceable in your jurisdiction.

Copies and storage of electronic documents

Google cannot guarantee that a copy of the executed documents will always be available through its services (e.g., in the case where you delete your Google account or where the document owner changes access permission on the executed document). To ensure you retain a copy of all documents executed with the eSignature Beta, you should independently store a copy of all executed documents.

Because the eSignature Beta is a pre-general release offering, and because your access to executed documents in Drive may be dependent on sharing settings, there is a chance that you could lose online access to or not receive a copy of a document you executed. Do not rely on the eSignature Beta for online storage of your executed documents - make sure to retain a separate offline copy after execution. Note too that during the pre-release period, you should not rely on Google’s standard export process to obtain copies of signed files, as those files will be an unsupported data type.

Business uses only; Same Jurisdiction

Signature Information and Document Access

Adobe Reader and Acrobat warning

You can avoid seeing this warning by manually selecting to trust the certificate (which is named “Google <[email protected]>” using the following steps:

Click “Signature Panel” in the bar at the top of your document that states “at least one signature has problems.”
Expand the dropdown for the signature listing with yellow warning symbol displayed next to it which says “Signed by Google <[email protected]>”
Expand the “Signature Details.”
Click “Certificate Details.”
Select the certificate named “Digicert Assured ID Root G3” from the listing on the left, select the Trust tab, and then click “Add to Trusted Certificates.”
Confirm your choice to trust the certificate.
Select “Validate All” from the Signature Panel to validate your executed document using the newly trusted signature, or reload Adobe Reader or Acrobat.
The bar at the top of your document should now read “Signed and all signatures are valid.” with a green checkmark.

Pre-general release service

The eSignature Beta is a pre-general release service being tested by Google. The eSignature Beta may, at any time and without prior notice, be modified, suspended, unavailable or discontinued. You specifically acknowledge that as a pre-general release service, the eSignature Beta may be more prone to errors or inaccuracies. Google disclaims all warranties regarding the eSignature Beta, including that it will be fit for your particular purposes. Google has no obligation to generally release a version of the eSignature Beta, and any generally released version may have significantly different functionality than the pre-general release version.

Brazil Users

Disclaimer

These eSignature Terms together with the Google Terms (“Agreement”) state all the terms applicable to your use of the eSignature Beta. You agree that you will not have any right or remedy based on any statement, representation, or warranty (whether made negligently or innocently), except those expressly stated in the Agreement.

eSignature Terms

These eSignature Terms (“eSignature Terms”) apply to your use of the general release version of Google Doc and Google Drive’s feature for electronic signature of documents (“eSignature”). These eSignature Terms are service-specific additional terms and are in addition to and supplement the Google Terms of Service and Google Workspace Individual Additional Terms of Service (collectively “Workspace Individual Terms”). For the purposes of the Workspace Individual Terms, eSignature is a feature of Docs and Drive and is regarded as part of the “Google Workspace Individual Products”. In the event of any conflict between these eSignature Terms and the Workspace Individual Terms, these eSignature Terms will govern solely with respect to the eSignature to the extent of the conflict.

Google will grant you, subject to your compliance with these eSignature Terms, a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use eSignature during its general release. If you cancel your subscription to Google Workspace Individual, you may continue to receive access to eSignature for some period of time after the end of your subscription and these eSignature Terms will continue to apply to that access.

Google is not a party to documents executed with eSignature

eSignature is a means by which a party can execute contracts and other documents sent to them using the service. Any document executed using the eSignature is only between the parties to that document. By using eSignature, you are consenting to conduct transactions electronically through the service with the other party to the document.

You control who you do business with

You control the contents of your documents

You are solely responsible for ensuring documents you send or receive through eSignature for execution represent the complete and final understanding of your agreement with your counterparty.

Each party should review and agree on the draft of a document before it is executed through eSignature. As part of finalizing the document with the other intended party, all suggested edits and comments in the document must be resolved before execution.

You control what documents are executed

Not all documents will be eligible for electronic signature in every jurisdiction. For example, common categories of documents that jurisdictions will require wet ink signatures for are trusts, wills, codicils, powers of attorney and deeds. Consult with a lawyer in your jurisdiction to ensure any document you are planning to have executed through eSignature will be enforceable in your jurisdiction.

Copies and storage of electronic documents

While Google will attempt to send an email to all parties with a copy of the executed document and place a copy in each party’s Drive accounts, Google cannot guarantee that all parties will receive such copies. For example, your (or your counterparties’) email settings may prevent receipt of the copy. As a result, you are solely responsible for retaining a copy of the executed agreement for your own records and for confirming with your counterparties that they have also received a copy for their records. You should retain any email you receive from eSignature that contains the executed document as it may be useful later on for helping to establish what was signed.

Not all parties may receive copies of executed documents (e.g., copies may not be sent due to technical error, Drive Storage limits, or spam filters could reject the email with the executed copy.) So, follow-up with parties to ensure that everyone received a copy. Ensure that you and the other parties have retained a separate copy of the document before deleting the file or changing access permissions. Make sure to retain a separate offline copy after execution.

Google cannot guarantee that a copy of the executed documents will always be available through its services (e.g., in the case where you delete your Google account). To ensure you retain a copy of all documents executed with eSignature, you should independently store a copy of all executed documents.

Business uses only; Same Jurisdiction

You may only use eSignature for business purposes and not for any personal, family or household purposes. You must also only send to (or execute contracts sent from) counterparties that are in the same legal jurisdiction as you.

Signature Information and Document Access

Copies of documents executed with eSignature contain certificate-based signatures that help identify the parties. The accompanying document metadata (and any audit log that may be provided by eSignature) may include the email address of each party as well as other information about the document, the Google account (like a pseudonymized identifier tied to that account), the device used by the party (like IP address) and other details (like time and date). Anyone with access to the underlying document will have access to this information along with the signed document.

Adobe Reader and Acrobat warning

If you use Adobe Reader or Acrobat to open a document signed with our eSignature, you may receive a warning about issues with a signature in the document. Adobe’s statements regarding validity of signatures relate only to the certificate Google uses to digitally sign the document and do not relate to the signing party’s signature.

You can avoid seeing this warning by manually selecting to trust the certificate (which is named “Google <[email protected]>” using the following steps:

Click “Signature Panel” in the bar at the top of your document that states “at least one signature has problems.”
Expand the dropdown for the signature listing with yellow warning symbol displayed next to it which says “Signed by Google <[email protected]>”
Expand the “Signature Details.”
Click “Certificate Details.”
Select the certificate named “Digicert Assured ID Root G3” from the listing on the left, select the Trust tab, and then click “Add to Trusted Certificates.”
Confirm your choice to trust the certificate.
Select “Validate All” from the Signature Panel to validate your executed document using the newly trusted signature, or reload Adobe Reader or Acrobat.
The bar at the top of your document should now read “Signed and all signatures are valid.” with a green checkmark.

Brazil Users

There may be heightened enforceability risks associated with use of documents executed with eSignature in your jurisdiction. You should consider these risks with a licensed attorney before using eSignature.

Disclaimer

Any information and warnings provided in these terms regarding the enforceability of electronically signed contracts are for general information purposes only and are not intended to serve as legal advice. Google cannot and does not guarantee that use of the eSignature will lead to an enforceable contract in your jurisdiction. You should consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction if you have questions about use of electronic signatures and electronic contracts.

These eSignature Terms together with the Workspace Individual Terms (“Agreement”) state all the terms applicable to your use of eSignature. You agree that you will not have any right or remedy based on any statement, representation, or warranty (whether made negligently or innocently), except those expressly stated in the Agreement.

eSignature Signer Terms

These eSignature Signer Terms (“eSignature Signer Terms”) apply to your use of the general release version of Google Doc and Google Drive’s feature for electronic signature of documents (“eSignature”).

These eSignature Signer Terms are service-specific additional terms and are in addition to and supplement the Google Terms of Service (“Google Terms”). For the purposes of the Google Terms, eSignature is a feature of Docs and Drive and is regarded as part of the “Services”. In the event of any conflict between these eSignature Signer Terms and the Google Terms, these eSignature Signer Terms will govern solely with respect to eSignature to the extent of the conflict.

These eSignature Signer Terms do not, however, supersede, amend or otherwise affect other agreements you may have with us related to eSignature. If you agree to terms related to eSignature in connection with your Google Workspace account, those terms (and not these eSignature Signer Terms) will apply to your use of eSignature whether you initiate a document for signature or receive a document for signature.

Google grants you, subject to your compliance with these eSignature Signer Terms, a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use eSignature during its general release for the purpose of electronically signing documents you have received for execution via eSignature.

Google is not a party to documents executed with eSignature

eSignature is a means by which a party can execute contracts and other documents sent to them using the service. Any document executed using eSignature is only between the parties to that document. By using eSignature, you are consenting to conduct transactions electronically through the service with the other party to the document.

You control who you do business with

Before you execute any document using eSignature, make sure you have confirmed the sender’s identity. Anyone that has access to an email account used to send or receive a document link (with or without permission of the account owner) will be able to execute on behalf of that email account. So, you should ensure that the right person is sending you a link before you sign. Additionally, if you are a Google account holder and you update your email address, you will be able to sign documents sent to that old email address (assuming the new and old emails are still both tied to the same underlying account).

You control the contents of your documents

You are solely responsible for ensuring documents you send or receive through eSignature for execution represent the complete and final understanding of your agreement with your counterparty.

Each party should review and agree on the draft of a document before it is executed through eSignature. Don’t make any changes to the document without informing the other party and giving them a chance to review the changes before the document is executed. As part of finalizing the document with the other intended party, all suggested edits and comments in the document must be resolved before execution. Also, don’t add a comment to a signed PDF file, it could create a new file that affects the integrity of the underlying agreement or otherwise cause confusion for you and your counterparty regarding the final agreement.

You control what documents are executed

Not all documents will be eligible for electronic signature in every jurisdiction. For example, common categories of documents that jurisdictions will require wet ink signatures for are trusts, wills, codicils, powers of attorney and deeds. Consult with a lawyer in your jurisdiction to ensure any document you are planning to have executed through eSignature will be enforceable in your jurisdiction.

Copies and storage of electronic documents

While Google will attempt to send an email to all parties with a copy of the executed document and place a copy in each party’s Drive accounts, Google cannot guarantee that all parties will receive such copies. For example, your (or your counterparties’) email settings may prevent receipt of the copy. As a result, you are solely responsible for retaining a copy of the executed agreement for your own records and for confirming with your counterparties that they have also received a copy for their records. You should retain any email you receive from the eSignature that contains the executed document as it may be useful later on for helping to establish what was signed. If you have not received a copy of the executed agreement via email, request a copy of the executed agreement from your counterparties.

You may not receive copies of executed documents (e.g., copies may not be sent due to technical error, Drive Storage limits, or spam filters could reject the email with the executed copy.). So, you should follow-up with parties to ensure that you have received a copy.

Google cannot guarantee that a copy of the executed documents will always be available through its services (e.g., in the case where you delete your Google account or where the document owner changes access permission on the executed document). To ensure you retain a copy of all documents executed with eSignature, you should independently store a copy of all executed documents.

Business uses only; Same Jurisdiction

Signature Information and Document Access

Adobe Reader and Acrobat warning

You can avoid seeing this warning by manually selecting to trust the certificate (which is named “Google <[email protected]>” using the following steps:

Click “Signature Panel” in the bar at the top of your document that states “at least one signature has problems.”
Expand the dropdown for the signature listing with yellow warning symbol displayed next to it which says “Signed by Google <[email protected]>”
Expand the “Signature Details.”
Click “Certificate Details.”
Select the certificate named “Digicert Assured ID Root G3” from the listing on the left, select the Trust tab, and then click “Add to Trusted Certificates.”
Confirm your choice to trust the certificate.
Select “Validate All” from the Signature Panel to validate your executed document using the newly trusted signature, or reload Adobe Reader or Acrobat.
The bar at the top of your document should now read “Signed and all signatures are valid.” with a green checkmark.

Brazil Users

Disclaimer

Any information and warnings provided in these terms regarding the enforceability of electronically signed contracts are for general information purposes only and are not intended to serve as legal advice. Google cannot and does not guarantee that use of eSignature will lead to an enforceable contract in your jurisdiction. You should consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction if you have questions about use of electronic signatures and electronic contracts.

These eSignature Terms together with the Google Terms (“Agreement”) state all the terms applicable to your use of eSignature. You agree that you will not have any right or remedy based on any statement, representation, or warranty (whether made negligently or innocently), except those expressly stated in the Agreement.