Summary
- Under English and Welsh law, deeds and statutory declarations must be witnessed in person – video conferencing tools such as Skype or DocuSign do not satisfy the witnessing requirement.
- Electronic signatures are valid for most commercial documents, but a witness must be physically present with the signatory when executing a deed electronically.
- No permanent exceptions to in-person witnessing currently exist; temporary COVID-19 measures have lapsed.
- This article is a plain-English guide to witnessing deeds and statutory declarations under English and Welsh law, written for business owners navigating remote signing arrangements.
- It has been produced by LegalVision, a commercial law firm that specialises in advising clients on contract execution and deed formalities.
Tips for Businesses
Ensure your witness is physically present when signing deeds or statutory declarations – video calls do not suffice. For remote transactions, print and sign the full document, then return signed pages to your lawyers. Electronic signing platforms are valid for standard contracts but cannot replace in-person witnessing for deeds.
It is essential to exercise caution when signing contractual documents to ensure your agreement is legally valid and enforceable. More people are working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and contracting with companies that may not be located in the same city. 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, at least one person must sign, and one person must witness the signing of deeds and statutory declarations.
A deed is a formal legal document that must be signed and witnessed to be valid. A statutory declaration is a formal legal statement of fact, signed in the presence of a solicitor, notary or other authorised individual.
The witness requirement in each circumstance ensures that the person with authority to sign the document executed 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.
Witnesses should generally:
- 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 typically sign most documents electronically without requiring all parties to be physically present. An electronic signature can include a typed name, a scanned handwritten signature, or the use of an electronic signing tool, such as DocuSign or Adobe Sign. Electronic signing platforms, such as DocuSign and eSignature, are now a common and valid method for signing 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.
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Witnessing 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 in a different location from the signatory.
Even if the witness can see the signatory executing the document using video conference technology, this will not suffice. If the witness and the signatory are in the same location, they can use electronic signing to sign the deed. However, the witness must be physically present with the signatory while they signed electronically.
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 return it to the lawyers with the signed pages. Those signature pages can then be collated with signatures from other parties to form a legally binding contract.
You can request that lawyers distribute copies of the signed documents, also known as originals, for your records. However, this can mean that you will need to sign, witness, and return multiple copies of your signatures to the lawyers.
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What About Digital Witnessing Technology?
As legal technology evolves, many professionals ask whether advancements like remote online notarisation or live video witnessing tools (e.g., through secure legal tech platforms) are changing the traditional rules.
Currently, English and Welsh law still require the physical presence of a witness at the time of signing for deeds and statutory declarations. While tools such as DocuSign and Adobe Sign offer high levels of security and identity verification, these platforms do not replace the requirement for a witness to be physically present when using these technologies.
The Law Commission and HM Land Registry have acknowledged that future reforms may enable secure video witnessing for deeds. However, these changes are not yet in effect. Until then, physical presence remains a strict legal requirement for witnessing.
Key Takeaways
Under English and Welsh law, certain documents require a witness to validate the parties’ signatures when they are entered into. 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 deeds or statutory declarations via online video conferencing technology. However, you can sign and witness documents remotely from other parties to the contract, or use e-signature technology in the presence of the signatory.
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Frequently Asked Questions
You cannot witness a document remotely from the signatory executing the document. However, if the witness is in the person’s physical presence, signing the document, you can witness a document remotely from the other signing parties.
Under English and Welsh law, you cannot witness a deed via Skype.
While it is not illegal for a family member to witness a signature, it is strongly discouraged. The witness should be impartial and independent to avoid any perception of bias or conflict of interest. Ideally, the witness should not benefit from the document being signed.
There are very limited exceptions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary rules allowed remote witnessing in certain contexts (e.g., wills). However, these exceptions have lapsed, and there are no permanent exceptions for witnessing deeds or statutory declarations remotely under current law. Always check with a solicitor if you are unsure.
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