E-signature legality in the United Kingdom
Electronic signatures are recognised and admissible, and a simple electronic signature can validly execute most documents, including deeds, as long as any separate execution formality is met.
Sufficient for ordinary commercial contracts, and a signature cannot be rejected just for not being qualified. The catch is that only a qualified signature gets the automatic presumption, so a simple one carries a heavier evidential burden if it is challenged.
The governing law
Electronic Communications Act 2000, section 7; UK eIDAS, being retained Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 with the Electronic Identification and Trust Services Regulations 2016; Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989; Wills Act 1837; Land Registration Act 2002; Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023.
Types of signature recognised
Simple, advanced and qualified electronic signatures. Only a qualified signature is automatically treated as equivalent to a handwritten one.
Commonly signed electronically
- Commercial supply and services agreements
- Non-disclosure agreements
- Employment contracts and settlement agreements
- Board and shareholder written resolutions
- Electronic trade documents such as bills of lading
What you cannot sign electronically in the United Kingdom
This is the part worth reading twice. These documents either cannot be signed electronically at all, or need a higher-assurance form than an ordinary online signature.
- Deeds, unless a witness is physically present to attest the signature
- Wills (the temporary video witnessing relaxation expired on 31 January 2024)
- Contracts for the sale or disposition of an interest in land
- Registered land dispositions outside HM Land Registry's approved routes
- Statutory declarations and lasting powers of attorney, which are wet ink only per Land Registry guidance
- Paper trade documents issued before 20 September 2023
What matters in practice
For a normal English business contract a typed or drawn signature is enough, and the live questions are intent to authenticate and provable attribution. Two traps catch people out: a deed still needs a physically present witness, and anything touching land runs under stricter separate rules.
FileHook produces standard electronic signatures with a tamper-evident audit log and a certificate of completion. We do not offer signer identity verification, qualified signatures, or certificates from a licensed authority. Where the notes above say you need one of those, you need a different tool, and we would rather tell you now.
Sources
This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and the right answer depends on your document and your situation. Check with a qualified lawyer in the relevant country before relying on it for anything that matters.
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