Vault IndexLegal
Electronic signatures and the evidence that makes them stick
In England and Wales a simple electronic signature is usually valid. What decides a dispute is the audit trail around it.
Vault Index desk / 11 August 2026 / 7 min read
The general position
For most commercial contracts in England and Wales an electronic signature can satisfy a statutory signature requirement, and the Law Commission confirmed that position in its 2019 report. Nothing in the ordinary case requires a specialist signing platform.
This is general information rather than legal advice, and the formalities differ for deeds, transfers of land, wills and some regulated documents. Where one of those is in play, ask a solicitor before you send the link.
What an audit trail should contain
A defensible record names the signatory and the verified email or phone used, records the time in a stated time zone, captures the originating IP address, shows the sequence of consent and signature, and fixes the document with a cryptographic hash such as SHA-256 so that any later edit is detectable.
If a platform gives you a certificate without a hash, you can prove somebody clicked. You cannot prove what they clicked on.
Practical habits
Send to a verified address rather than a shared inbox. Sign in a fixed order where the document depends on it. Keep the completion certificate with the executed copy in the same folder, not in a separate signing account somebody leaves the company with.
Where signature sits inside the same room as the documents, the signed version stays attached to the folder it came from. That is a small thing until you are reconstructing a chain of amendments two years later.
Sources and further reading
- Law Commission, electronic execution of documents
- 99 Data Rooms, e-signature audit trail explained
- 99 Data Rooms, are electronic signatures legal in England and Wales
Vendor figures rechecked 1 September 2026