STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC RECORDS AND SIGNATURES
Creating industry wide standards for electronic signatures and records

 

What's New

New SPeRS Initiative:  SPeRS Version 2.0

After studying the current market environment, the Electronic Financial Services Council, which administers SPeRS, has determined there is a desire for an updated version of the SPeRS Manual.  Also being considered is an expansion of SPeRS to cover such topics as electronic record retention and data management, electronic recordation and notarization, and privacy and security.  Please view the letter below from SPeRS Drafting Committee Chair John Taggart for more information and for instructions on how to submit your feedback on the SPeRS Version 2.0 project.  The letter is available here.

 

SPeRS (Standards and Procedures for Electronic Records and Signatures) provides behavioral standards for implementing online transactions.

ESIGN and the UETA allow for widespread replacement of paper documents with electronic records. They also enable the broad use of electronic signatures. Many businesses are converting their operations to avail themselves of the enormous advantages offered by electronic records systems. While the new eCommerce laws permit the use of electronic records and signatures, they also require that electronic systems and processes meet specific standards for:

  • Obtaining consent to use electronic records and signatures,
  • Presentation of information,
  • Execution of signatures and creation of agreements,
  • Record retention,
  • Printing, and
  • Delivery.

Failure to meet those standards may impair the enforceability of electronic records.

SPeRS provides "rules of the road" for all those seeking to realize the opportunities unlocked by ESIGN and UETA, reducing development costs and enhancing business, technological and legal compliance. Learn more.

Order SPeRS v1 Manual
Order Your SPeRS Manual
New eCommerce laws permit the widespread replacement of paper documents with electronic records. They also enable the broad use of electronic signatures.

Published in September 2003 and numbering 450 pages, SPeRS is intended for use by system design teams, including business managers, IT professionals, and legal counsel. SPeRS provides concrete, practical, technology-neutral advice and strategies for:

  • Authenticating transaction participants,
  • Obtaining consent to use electronic records and signatures,
  • Presenting information,
  • Creating agreements,
  • Executing signatures, and
  • Record retention

To order a SPeRS Manual please contact Jennifer Jones at (202) 349-8067 or jjones@buckleykolar.com.

SPeRS News
  • SPeRS Announces Distribution of E-Records, E-Signatures Program to ACLI Members
    The SPeRS Drafting Committee, a group comprising financial trade associations and companies, announced it has reached an agreement to make its electronic records and signatures program available to member companies of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). (read press release)

  • Technical Report Brings E Signatures Nearer To Reality
    Replacing paper documents where a "wet" signature is required with electronic records is a goal of the financial services industry. Today the SPeRS Drafting Committee of the Electronic Financial Services Council (EFSC) and the Accredited Standards Committee X9 (ASC X9) report the goal is one step closer to reality as Technical Report 4-2004, Standards and Procedures for Electronic Records and Signatures (TR 4 or SPeRS) was approved with an official designation as a registered Technical Report with ASC X9 and the American National Standards Institute. (read press release)

Electronic Financial
Services Council

For more information on the availability and delivery of financial services in electronic commerce visit the site of the Electronic Financial Services Council

Standards and Procedures For Electronic Records and Signatures
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