Can You Witness Contracts, Deeds and Statutory Declarations Online in the UK?

It is important to take care when signing contractual documents to ensure your agreement is legally valid and enforceable. More people are working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, business owners in the UK must understand how to properly sign and witness contracts, deeds and statutory documents online. Recent reports from the Law Commission have provided guidance on how you can witness deeds and statutory declarations properly. This article will discuss how you can witness deeds and statutory declarations online in the UK. 

Why Do Some Legal Documents Require Witnesses?

Under English and Welsh law, two different people must sign and witness deeds and statutory declarations.

The witness requirement in each circumstance ensures the person with authority to sign the document did execute the legal contract. Additionally, a court can call a witness to confirm that the correct person has executed a document. 

Usually, a witness must provide their name and address when they witness a document. This ensures they are contactable to authenticate a signature. 

On some occasions, when a company is signing a deed, two directors can sign the document. Alternatively, a director and a company secretary can sign the document instead of a director and a witness. 

Witnesses must: 

• be over the age of 18;
• be of sound mind or mental capacity and not under the influence of alcohol or drugs; 
• must not be subject to undue influence; or
• not be a party to the document.

Your legal counsel can act as witnesses to a signature. It is also common for law firms to invite transaction parties to their offices to sign documents in business transactions.

Signing a Document Electronically

In modern commercial transactions, you can sign most documents electronically without all parties needing to be physically present. Electronic signing platforms like DocuSign and eSignature are now a common and valid way to sign transaction documents. But, according to the Law Commission’s guidance, in order to properly execute a document, you must reliably identify that the person signing the contract intends to do so while also ensuring that any formalities of that signing are also satisfied. Those formalities can include that your electronic signatures take a specific form, for example, being handwritten or being stamped. But that becomes difficult when signing deeds, which you must witness.

Witnesses Cannot Sign Deeds or Statutory Declarations Electronically 

Under English and Welsh law, witnesses cannot attest to the authenticity of a signature when the witness is not physically present at the time the signatory is executing the document. That means you cannot witness deeds and statutory declarations online.

Even if the witness can see the signatory executing the document using video conference technology, they still must be present. But, while you cannot witness a deed online, you can still sign a deed or statutory declaration remotely from other parties to the transaction. 

Signing a Deed Remotely

To sign a deed remotely, a full copy of the deed should be sent to the executing parties, via post or email, by the lawyers organising the transaction. 

Signatories must print a full copy of the document, sign the relevant signature block and have a witness present to oversee and authenticate their signature. 

Additionally, you must post or scan the full contract and send it back with the signed pages to the lawyers. Those signature pages can then be collated with signatures from other parties to form a legally binding contract.

You can request lawyers to distribute copies of the signed documents, also known as original documents, for your records. However, that can mean you will need to sign, witness and return multiple copies of your signatures to the lawyers. 

Key Takeaways 

Under English and Welsh law, certain documents will require a witness to validate the parties’ signatures entering into that document. Those documents include: 

• deeds; 
• statutory declarations; and 
• contracts that require a witness must be present. 

Witnesses must be physically present to validate the signatures of the parties signing the documents. 

You cannot witness documents via online video conferencing technology. However, you can sign and witness documents remotely from other parties to the contract documents. If you need more advice on signing a deed or statutory instrument, our experienced contract lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions on how to witness and execute a deed or statutory instrument correctly. Call us today on [number] or visit our membership page.

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