FHA recently issued Mortgagee Letter 2014-03, which states that effective immediately, FHA will accept electronic signatures on a voluntary basis for the following documents:

• Mortgage Insurance Endorsement Documents – Electronic signatures will be accepted on all documents requiring signatures that are included in the case binder for mortgage insurance, except for the note. Effective December 31, 2014, however, FHA will accept electronic signatures on the note for forward mortgages.
• Servicing and Loss Mitigation Documentation – Electronic signatures will be accepted on any documents associated with servicing or loss mitigation services.
• FHA Insurance Claim Documentation – Electronic signatures will be accepted for any documents associated with the filing of a claim for FHA insurance benefits, including Form HUD-27011.
• HUD Real Estate Owned Documents – Electronic signatures will be accepted on the HUD REO Sales Contract and related addenda.

To be accepted by FHA, the electronic signatures are required to meet several requirements detailed in the Mortgagee Letter. The requirements cover the following aspects of an electronic signature:

• Associating an electronic signature with the authorized document
• ESIGN Act compliance
• Intent to sign
• Single use of a signature
• Authentication
• Attribution
• Credential loss management
• Integrity of records
• Quality control
• Record retention