Are electronic signatures legal in the UK? A guide for small businesses

This is general information about UK rules, checked on the date above. It is not legal advice, and rules change. For a decision that matters, check the sources below or ask a qualified adviser.

Sending a quote that a customer can sign on their phone saves days of chasing. Many business owners still wonder whether a signature on a screen counts. For ordinary commercial work the answer is reassuring, and the exceptions are specific enough to plan around.

The short version

• In England and Wales, an electronic signature can legally execute a document, as long as the signer intends to authenticate it and any formalities are met.¹
• Electronic signatures are admissible as evidence in legal proceedings.¹²
• Most business transactions do not have to be signed in any particular way.¹
• Deeds, wills and some property documents have extra requirements, so check before you rely on an e-signature for those.¹³

What the law says

The clearest statement comes from the Law Commission, the body that reviews law in England and Wales. Its project on the electronic execution of documents found that electronic signatures are validly used instead of handwritten signatures every day, and that most transactions are not required to be executed in a particular manner.¹

Its statement of the law says an electronic signature is capable in law of being used to execute a document, including a deed, provided that two things are true:¹

1. the person signing intends to authenticate the document
2. any formalities relating to execution of that document are satisfied

The government responded in March 2020, confirming its agreement with those legal conclusions.¹

Separately, section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 says an electronic signature, and the certification of it, are admissible in evidence on questions about whether a communication is authentic and has kept its integrity.²

What counts as a signature

The common law takes a pragmatic approach and does not prescribe any particular form of signature, unless legislation, a contract or specific case law says otherwise.¹ The courts have accepted surprisingly informal signatures on paper, including an “X”, initials only and a printed name. The Law Commission says electronic equivalents of these are likely to be recognised by a court as legally valid.¹

So the method matters less than people expect. The harder questions in a dispute are usually practical ones, such as who signed, what exactly they signed, and whether anything changed afterwards.

Where you need to take care

The Law Commission gives two examples of formalities that might apply: that the signature must be witnessed, or that it must be in a specified form, such as handwritten. These can be set by legislation or by a contract.¹ Its report does not extend to wills or to registered dispositions under the Land Registration Act 2002.¹

Deeds are the common trap for businesses. Each individual must sign in the presence of a witness who attests the signature.³ HM Land Registry’s published process for electronically signed deeds has each party sign in the physical presence of a witness.⁴ Personal guarantees and some property documents may fall into this category, so take advice before using an e-signature for them.

What makes an e-signature hold up

This part is our practical advice rather than a legal rule. If a customer later says “I never agreed to that”, you want to be able to show a clear story. A good signing process records:

• The exact document signed, in a form that cannot be quietly changed afterwards.
• Who signed, by sending the link to a contact detail you already hold for them.
• When it was signed, with the date and time stored automatically.
• That they meant to agree, with clear wording next to the button, such as “I accept this quote and these terms”.
• A copy for the customer, sent straight away so nobody is unsure what was agreed.

Consumer rules still apply

An e-signature only settles whether something was signed. It does not remove your other obligations. If you sell to the public and the agreement is made in their home, or just after meeting them there, they may have a 14-day right to cancel, and you must tell them about it. See our guide to cancellation rights for trades.

The quote itself also needs care. Our article on the difference between a quote and an estimate covers what you are committing to when you send one.

In practice

For most small businesses, the sensible position looks like this:

If a customer can read and sign a quote in the same minute you send it, you have removed one of the main reasons jobs go quiet. You can try that flow in our quick quotes demo, which shows the sent, opened and signed steps.