Can A Text Message Be A Legal Agreement

With the spread of mobile phones, the work is increasingly carried out through and through text messages; for many people, it may even be their favorite form of communication! Texts can be used when you`re hosting coffee or lunch meetings, sorting through the details of a plan, contacting your independent contractors to see if they`re available, quickly helping a project, arranging a digital influencer on social media to promote your business and products, and confirming the details of a potential sale! All of this raises the question of whether a text message can create a legally binding contract, especially for a California business owner. Bottom Line: Text messages are ideal for quick communication. However, if you want to make a text mandatory, state the agreement in one text and ask the other to confirm the agreement and insert their name. It would still be better to conclude the contract by e-mail and ensure that the necessary conditions and signatures are clear. Of course, the best is to create a digitally signed document. Unlike a digital signature that uses encryption to prohibit any modification of the document, an electronic signature is only a mark on the document indicating a party`s intention to execute the agreement. This means that in most contracts established under California law, if there was a meeting of heads on the treaty and a party wrote their name in the agreement to sign it, then they will likely be bound by the treaty. California Law: Fraud and Electronic Signatures Act Modern Fraud Law is generally a legal provision that requires certain types of contracts to be recalled in writing and to meet other requirements that go beyond those of fundamental contract law. In California, the fraud law includes contracts such as the purchase or transfer of property, leases longer than one year, larger commercial loans, and all contracts that explicitly require more than one year to conclude. It`s a good idea to make sure that you`ve clearly expressed them in a written document and that you have them on hand and that you`ll drop them off as needed, as text messages don`t serve as proof of your consent.