The Legal Position On Electronically Executing Documents

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting home working, the issue of whether legal documents can be signed electronically is being asked more frequently by clients.

The position in the UK is that in most cases, electronic signatures can be used instead of handwritten ones with the government's view in March 2020 that electronic signatures "are permissible and can be used in confidence in commercial and consumer documents"

Contracts

There is no requirement for contracts under English law to take a specific format. Provided that the key elements are in place, such as offer and acceptance, a simple contract may be entered into with an electronic signature of the parties.

Case law has also established that clicking 'I accept' on a website, a name at the end of an email or a scanned signature all constitute valid signatures. The main question is - does the person signing the document intend to 'authenticate' that document?

Parties should also be satisfied that;

The electronic signature is applied with the necessary intent and authority A company does not...