Captured source text (L5)
3.1 Background
In Law Com No 386, referred to above, the Law Commission concluded that an electronic signature was capable in law of being used to execute a document, including a deed. The Law Commission also concluded that an electronic signature could be witnessed in essentially the same way as a wet ink signature, except that the witness who is physically present at the time of the signing would see the signatory adding their signature electronically to a document.
At the same time, the Law Commission recognised that if a public registry only accepted wet ink signatures, then the parties would not be able to execute documents electronically, regardless of the legal position. It did not take issue with HM Land Registry’s stance in its response to the Law Commission’s earlier consultation paper that a registration authority ‘needs to have control of the means of execution used for documents that must be registered, particularly where title guarantee is offered’.
HM Land Registry will accept most documents being electronically signed where the steps listed below are followed. As will be seen, one of these steps is that a conveyancer provides HM Land Registry with a certificate concerning the signature. As a result, these electronic signatures are referred to by us as ‘conveyancer-certified electronic signatures’. (In the past, the term ‘witnessed electronic signatures’ was sometimes used, but this can be misleading as the signatures may be ones that do not need to be witnessed).
The signing will require the use of an operating system or platform that manages the electronic signing process, including the creation of the electronic signature. A PDF of the resulting document – finalised in the platform – is lodged with the application for registration. There are several providers of such platforms that allow for our requirements to be met. We do not prescribe that particular providers be used, nor do we have an approved list of providers.
The parties’ conveyancers are advised to retain with their conveyancing file a copy of the completion certificate or audit report produced by the platform at the end of the signing process. Such a certificate or report should give an audit trail of the signing, including the time and date of the signatures, email addresses the document was sent to, the one-time password (OTP) method used, the fields that were completed and the IP addresses of the devices that were used.
Full captured verbatim text
In Law Com No 386, referred to above, the Law Commission concluded that an electronic signature was capable in law of being used to execute a document, including a deed. The Law Commission also concluded that an electronic signature could be witnessed in essentially the same way as a wet ink signature, except that the witness who is physically present at the time of the signing would see the signatory adding their signature electronically to a document. At the same time, the Law Commission recognised that if a public registry only accepted wet ink signatures, then the parties would not be able to execute documents electronically, regardless of the legal position. It did not take issue with HM Land Registry’s stance in its response to the Law Commission’s earlier consultation paper that a registration authority ‘needs to have control of the means of execution used for documents that must be registered, particularly where title guarantee is offered’. HM Land Registry will accept most documents being electronically signed where the steps listed below are followed. As will be seen, one of these steps is that a conveyancer provides HM Land Registry with a certificate concerning the signature. As a result, these electronic signatures are referred to by us as ‘conveyancer-certified electronic signatures’. (In the past, the term ‘witnessed electronic signatures’ was sometimes used, but this can be misleading as the signatures may be ones that do not need to be witnessed). The signing will require the use of an operating system or platform that manages the electronic signing process, including the creation of the electronic signature. A PDF of the resulting document – finalised in the platform – is lodged with the application for registration. There are several providers of such platforms that allow for our requirements to be met. We do not prescribe that particular providers be used, nor do we have an approved list of providers. The parties’ conveyancers are advised to retain with their conveyancing file a copy of the completion certificate or audit report produced by the platform at the end of the signing process. Such a certificate or report should give an audit trail of the signing, including the time and date of the signatures, email addresses the document was sent to, the one-time password (OTP) method used, the fields that were completed and the IP addresses of the devices that were used.