(a) An arbitration agreement is in writing if its content is recorded in any form, including, but not limited to, in a document signed by the parties or in an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams, electronic mail, or other means of telecommunication accessible for subsequent reference that provides a record of the agreement.
§ 1297.73.Arbitration Agreement In Writing Explained
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 2. Arbitration Agreements and Judicial Measures in Aid of Arbitration · Article 1. Definition and Form of Arbitration Agreements · Enacted 1903 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.73 defines what satisfies the writing requirement for an international arbitration agreement broadly, covering signed documents, letters, telegrams, and other telecommunications, accessible electronic communications and data messages, an unrebutted exchange of claim and defense alleging an agreement, and incorporation by reference to a document containing an arbitration clause.
Full Text of § 1297.73
(b) The requirement that an arbitration agreement be in writing is met by an electronic communication if the information contained therein is accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference.
(1) "Electronic communication" means any communication that the parties make by means of data messages.
(2) "Data message" means information generated, sent, received, or stored by electronic, magnetic, optical, or similar means, including, but not limited to, electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic mail, telegram, telex, or telecopy.
(c) An arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in an exchange of statements of claim and defense in which the existence of an agreement is alleged by one party and not denied by the other.
(d) The reference in a contract to any document containing an arbitration clause constitutes an arbitration agreement in writing, provided that the reference is such as to make that clause part of the contract.
Plain-English Summary
This section makes good on the promise in Section 1297.72: it defines “in writing” generously enough to match how businesses communicate. An arbitration agreement is in writing if its content is recorded in any form at all -- a signed document, an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams, email, or any other telecommunication method that leaves a record accessible for later reference. The medium does not matter; what matters is that the content got recorded somewhere retrievable.
Electronic communication gets its own explicit coverage. If the information in an electronic communication is accessible so it can be used later, the writing requirement is met. The section defines “electronic communication” as anything the parties send by way of “data messages” -- information generated, sent, received, or stored electronically, magnetically, optically, or by similar means, including electronic data interchange, email, telegram, telex, or telecopy.
Two further paths round out the definition. First, if the parties never exchanged a signed writing at all but one side's statement of claim alleges an arbitration agreement exists and the other side's statement of defense does not deny it, that silence-as-acceptance exchange itself satisfies the writing requirement. Second, a contract that references some other document containing an arbitration clause counts as a written arbitration agreement, provided the reference is specific enough to make that clause part of the contract -- an incorporation-by-reference path that lets standard-form arbitration clauses travel with the documents they are attached to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an arbitration agreement need a single signed document to satisfy the writing requirement?
No -- a signed document is one option, but letters, telegrams, accessible electronic communications, an unrebutted exchange of claim and defense, and incorporation by reference all satisfy the requirement too.
How does email or another electronic communication satisfy the writing requirement?
If the information it contains is accessible so it can be used for subsequent reference, the electronic communication meets the writing requirement.
What happens if one party's claim alleges an arbitration agreement and the other side never denies it?
That exchange of statements of claim and defense itself satisfies the writing requirement, without any separate signed document.
Can a contract satisfy the writing requirement just by referencing another document with an arbitration clause?
Yes, so long as the reference is specific enough to make that clause part of the contract.
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2024 ch 90 (AB 1903),s 4, eff. 1/1/2025.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: electronic arbitration agreement californiawriting requirement arbitration clause incorporation by reference