Before the days of digital documents, the standards regarding what was an original document and what was a copy were clear. When it came to the legal validity of a copy or fax, an institution had to determine if the electronic record was evidence of a contract and if the signatures within it served as proof of a contact’s acceptance. When fax machines rose in popularity, few legal courts and companies accepted facsimiles with signatures as “originals” until 1995. Today, electronically transmitted documents and faxes often suffice as proof of an agreement or at least serve as interim evidence until the original is made available. Whether a scanned or electronic document is as credible or valuable as the original depends on a business’s document management procedures and the document in question.