The Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act is a model act drafted and approved by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) to create standards for authenticating and preserving digital legal documents, such as official statutes, codes, regulations and decisions. [1] The model act was approved by the ULC in July 2011. [2]
The act requires that if electronic legal records are to be designated official records by a state government, they must be: [3]
It also provides that authenticated electronic legal records from other states are presumed to be true and accurate, and that the state should use consider recent standards, the needs of users and government entities, and the standards used by other jurisdictions in its efforts to preserve, authenticate, and publish electronic legal records.
Twenty-four states plus DC and the US Virgin Islands have since passed legislation based on the model act: [4]
| Jurisdiction | Year | Bill Number |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 2025 | HB 1739/HB 1748 |
| Montana | 2025 | HB 111 |
| Indiana | 2022 | SB 131 |
| US Virgin Islands | 2021 | 34-0034 |
| Iowa | 2019 | HF 743 |
| Michigan | 2019 | HB 4779 |
| Texas | 2019 | HB 402 |
| Ohio | 2018 | SB 139 |
| Utah | 2018 | SB 121 |
| District of Columbia | 2017 | 21-0890 |
| Maryland | 2017 | SB137/HB165 |
| Washington | 2017 | SB 5039 |
| West Virginia | 2017 | SB 214 |
| Arizona | 2016 | SB 1414 |
| Delaware | 2014 | HB 403 |
| Idaho | 2014 | SB 1356 |
| Illinois | 2014 | SB 1941 |
| Pennsylvania | 2014 | SB 601 |
| Connecticut | 2013 | SB 235 |
| Hawaii | 2013 | SB 32 |
| Minnesota | 2013 | HF 278 |
| Nevada | 2013 | SB 105 |
| North Dakota | 2013 | HB 1129 |
| Oregon | 2013 | HB 2944 |
| California | 2012 | SB 1075 |
| Colorado | 2012 | HB 1209 |
As of 2025, the only UELMA jurisdictions that have designated their digital statutes/codes official are: [5]