Useful tips to help you sign your legal agreements correctly & samples for your use
Updated: 6 February 2021
Whether you want to confirm that you are signing your agreement correctly, or, repurpose an agreement prepared for you by a lawyer, or, simply want to check your current processes are in order, here are some useful tips to help you sign your legal agreements confidently.
Below, we outline steps for signing Australian agreements only and not deeds. if you want to know how to sign a deed correctly you can refer to our article here.
And as always, if you're in doubt, get legal advice.
We're going to cover signing agreement as a sole trader, company and trust below.
So, let's begin with how a sole trader will sign agreements.
1. Sole trader
You can include a signature block for a witness but there is no legal requirement for you to do so.
If you decide to have a witness, they should be present to witness and for this reason you and your witness should sign the agreement electronically.
Here’s What the signature block looks like for a sole trader signing an agreement with a witness:
Signature block for an sole trader signing an agreement with a witness
Here's a signature block for a sole trader signing without a witness:
Signature block for a sole trader signing an agreement without a witness
2. Company
A company may sign a document by having it signed by either:
- two directors of the company;
- a director and a company secretary;
- for a company with a sole director who is also the soul secretary - that director.
Here's what your signature blocks look like for 2 company directors signing an agreement or a director and a secretary:
Signature block for an agreement signed by 2 or more directors or a director and a company secretary
Here's what the signature block looks like for a sole director signing an agreement:
Signature block for an agreement signed by a sole director
3. Trustee
If you have a trustee signing an agreement, it’s a good idea to see the trust deed or a certified copy of it.
You should NOT use this execution block for agreements that are e-signed.
Here's a signature block for a corporate trustee that has either 2 or more directors or a director and a secretary:
Signature block for a corporate trustee that has 2 or more directors or a director and a secretary
Here's the signature block for a corporate trustee with a sole director:
Signature block for a corporate trustee with a sole director
Do you have questions or comments about signing an agreement? Be sure to leave them below.
I wish you success in your ventures!