Is A Signature Necessary To Complete A Contract?

• Published date: 24 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Corporate/Commercial Law, Contracts and Commercial Law
• Law Firm: Simons Muirhead & Burton
• Author: MIchelle Rule

Yesterday, my colleague mused whether her client could sign a contract using her "known as" name rather than her given name. A number of us agreed "yes, she could," after all, a signature is merely evidence of agreement and not a pre-requisite to agreement. As I have explained to many people; no-one asks you to sign when you buy a Wispa before hopping on your train home, so a signature cannot be required to make a contract binding.

The pre-requisites for the formation of a contract are an intention to create legal relations, offer, acceptance and consideration. Contracts are often oral or implied by conduct and now our Canadian counterparts (who also have a common law system) have confirmed that the use of emojis in text based conversation can be used to communicate these core concepts - this seems a natural...