Electronic Signature Laws & Regulations - England, Wales & Northern Ireland

This guide addresses the electronic signature laws of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (English law). There is a separate statutory regime for electronic signatures in Scotland. Adobe has published a guide to Scots law which can be found here.

In addition to UK eIDAS, electronic signatures are regulated by the Electronic Communications Act (ECA 2000), the Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations 2016, and case law.

English law is conducive to executing documents with an electronic signature.

There are three types of electronic signatures under English law. An “electronic signature” is defined in Article 3(10) of UK eIDAS as “data in electronic form that is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form, and which is used by a natural person to sign.”

UK eIDAS recognises two types of digital signatures which are produced using public key cryptography and provide a higher level of identity assurance: an advanced electronic signature (AdES) and a qualified electronic signature (QES). AdES and QES are rarely mandated for English law transactions. The use of QES is generally reserved for cross-border transactions or transactions where the parties require more robust identity verification of the signatory. . (Our guide on using electronic and digital signatures in cross-border transactions is available here.)

For more information about AdES and QES, please visit the European Union legality page here.

Admissibility and legal validity of electronic signatures

Article 25 of UK eIDAS provides that an electronic signature cannot be denied legal effectiveness solely because of its electronic nature.

The statute also provides that electronic signatures are admissible as evidence in legal proceedings. Section 7(1) of the ECA mirrors the admissibility provision in UK eIDAS:

“In any legal proceedings, an electronic signature incorporated into or logically associated with a particular electronic communication or particular electronic data, and the certification by any person of such a signature, shall each be admissible in evidence in relation to any question as to the authenticity of the communication or data or as to the integrity of the communication or data."

Thus, in the event of a dispute, an electronic document bearing an electronic or digital signature generated by the Acrobat Sign platform (and the digital audit trail) will be admissible as evidence in English courts.

The ECA 2000 does not expressly provide for the legal validity of electronic signatures. This gap has been filled by case law. Recent judgments from the Court of Appeal and the High Court have concluded that electronic methods of signing, such as a typed name in an email and clicking on an “I Accept” button, do satisfy a statutory requirement for a valid signature. This is subject to the signatory demonstrating an “intention to authenticate” the document and satisfying any formalities relating to execution of that document (for example, formalities that a signature be witnessed, or the document be executed as a deed).

The Law Commission was concerned that legal uncertainties were impeding the use of electronic signatures and e-signing platforms. In September 2019, following a lengthy consultation period, the Law Commission published a report on the electronic execution of documents. The findings in the 2019 Report were endorsed by the UK government in March 2020.

The Law Commission concluded that the combination of UK eIDAS, ECA 2000 and case law means that an electronic signature is capable of meeting a statutory requirement for a signature if an authenticating intention can be demonstrated. This view is not limited to a particular type of electronic signature; English law is flexible. The Law Commission observed in paragraph 3.16 of the 2019 Report that, “English courts have treated electronic signatures as capable of binding parties in the same way as a handwritten signature, provided that there is an intention to authenticate.”

The 2019 Report also set out a “statement of law” which expressed the Law Commission’s high-level conclusions on the validity of electronic signatures under English law. The statement of law has broad application and is not restricted to commercial and consumer documents. It confirms that electronic signatures may be used to execute documents (and deeds) provided that the person signing the document intends to authenticate it; and (ii) any execution formalities are satisfied.

A contract executed using an electronic signature is therefore capable of satisfying a requirement under English law to be in writing and/or signed and/or made under hand.

QES under UK eIDAS.

EU Member States have the obligation under EU eIDAS to establish, maintain and publish trusted lists of Qualified Trust Service Providers (QTSPs) and the qualified trust services which they provide. A QTSP certified in any EU Member State will be recognized as a QTSP by all other Member States and, under Article 24A of UK eIDAS, by the UK. Accordingly, an EU Member State (and the UK) may not question the qualified status of a QTSP that has been added to the trusted list by the supervisory authority of another Member State.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the supervisory body for QTSPs in the UK. Presently, (September 2024), there is only one QTSP that is on the UK trusted list for QES and supervised by ICO. But this QTSP does not enable remote signing with QES on e-signing platforms.

Although UK eIDAS continues to recognise QES and other qualified trust services from QTSPs established in EU Member States, no reciprocal agreement exists. This means that if UK QTSPs are admitted to the UK trusted list, their QES and other qualified trust services would not automatically be recognised in EU Member States.

Special considerations

Transacting with public sector bodies

The 2019 Report states that the use of electronic signatures should not be mandatory, and a public sector body may decide whether it wishes to utilize them.

It is notable that public registries are striving to modernise their registration practice. HM Land Registry, Companies House, the Intellectual Property Office, the Civil Aviation Authority and the UK Ship Register now generally accept documents bearing an electronic signature.

Witnessing and attesting deeds

Deeds are a type of document with more stringent formality requirements. There are relatively few transactions which must be made by deed rather than by simple contract. Prominent examples include land transactions, mortgages, powers of attorney and agreements made without consideration.

Deeds may be validly executed with an electronic signature by an individual (under section 1(3) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989) and by a company (under section 44 and section 46 of the Companies Act 2006).

The 2019 Report gave a clear signal that where a deed must be witnessed, the witness must be “physically present” with the signatory and observe the signatory sign the deed. The witness must also attest the signature by signing their name in an attestation clause. The First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) has subsequently followed this lead and ruled that a deed may not have been validly executed if the witness was not physically present when the signatory signed the deed (Man Ching Yuen v Landy Chet Kin Wong First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), 2020 (ref 2016/1089)).

It is therefore possible to validly execute a deed using an electronic signature under English law and satisfy any requirements to witness, attest and deliver that deed.

See our guide on How to execute deeds using Acrobat Sign for further information.

Advances in digital technology mean that leading e-signing platforms now have integrations with video conferencing platforms (e.g. Acrobat Sign and Microsoft Teams). The Law Commission expressed its view in the 2019 Report that video witnessing is “sufficiently similar” to physical witnessing that it should be permitted. Adobe has also lobbied the UK government to use section 8 of the ECA and permit video witnessing of deeds.

Deeds that are registered with HM Land Registry

In July 2020, HM Land Registry (HMLR) announced that it would accept electronic signatures on transfers and other registrable deeds on condition that they satisfied HMLR’s practice requirements. HMLR’s requirements are very prescriptive. A conveyancer must set up and control the signing process when using Acrobat Sign platforms. The conveyancer is obliged to provide a certificate to HMLR which certifies that the signing process complies with HMLR’s practice requirements. Conveyancers who use Acrobat Sign platforms for the execution of any deeds lodged with HMLR should review our guidance on HMLR Requirements (https://helpx.adobe.com/sign/using/adobesign-hmlr-requirements.html).

In the near future, HMLR intends to launch QES for electronic dispositions under section 91 of the Land Registration Act 2002. . QES will remove the current requirement for witnessing and attesting deeds, but the signing process will have to meet HMLR’s own practice requirements.

Documents that require a traditional signature

Despite the Law Commission’s 2019 Report and its strong endorsement of e-signing, there are still use cases where it may not be appropriate to use electronic signatures:

• wills under the Wills Act 1837 which require a handwritten signature
• negotiable instruments (such as bills of exchange, promissory notes and chattel mortgages) which must exist in “physical form”
• lasting powers of attorney registered with the Office of the Public Guardian
• any English law documents requiring notarisation or legalisation for use in overseas jurisdictions
• HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) accepts electronic signatures on documents on which stamp duty is payable such as stock transfer forms; but certain documents submitted to HMRC still require a handwritten signature on a paper document