Signing off… lawyers decree the written signature has had its day

THE days of the handwritten signature are numbered as lawyers have decided electronic signatures can be used on most legal documents and contracts.

A 20-month investigation by the Law Commission concluded electronic signatures were a legally viable alternative on deeds from trust documents to powers of attorney, commercial deals, personal financial transactions and in government circles.

These can include signing electronically not just with a “written” signature but also with a tick in a box, an “X”, initials only, a printed name or even a description of the signatory such as “your loving mother”.

The commission stated: “Electronic equivalents of these non-electronic forms of signature are likely to be recognised by a court as legally valid. There is no reason in principle to think otherwise.”

It said many businesses and individuals already accepted electronic signatures. However, the commission warned that an electronic signature is not always acceptable. It said: “Not all stakeholders are convinced that an electronic signature fulfils a statutory requirement for a signature, and this doubt can slow down transactions and lead to disputes about the validity of documents. In addition, there is increased focus on the electronic execution of transactions because of interest in the use of blockchain and automated “smart” contracts to enter into legally binding transactions.” It said its simple statement of law should assuage those concerns.

Stephen Lewis, a law commissioner, said: “Our report aims to … make it clear that an electronic signature can generally be used in place of a handwritten signature as long as the usual rules on signatures are met.”

However, the commission noted concerns that some signatures could be less secure and open to fraud and recommended a working group to develop best practice to tackle such issues.