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Complete guide to UK e-signature law in 2026: the Electronic Communications Act, eIDAS, qualified vs simple e-signatures, and where DocFila's signature fits.
Electronic signatures have been legally recognised in the UK since the Electronic Communications Act 2000, reinforced by the Law Commission's 2019 report and the UK eIDAS Regulation. UK law says a signature cannot be denied legal effect purely because it is electronic. For most business contracts — NDAs, employment offers, MSAs, statements of work, supplier agreements — DocFila provides a Simple Electronic Signature (SES): not an advanced (AES) or qualified (QES) electronic signature.
There are narrow exceptions: wills, certain land-related deeds, and a handful of consumer credit documents that still require specific formalities. This page is general information, not legal advice — whether a given document needs more than an SES is a question for counsel.
1. Simple Electronic Signature (SES) — a typed name, drawn signature, or click-to-sign. This is what DocFila provides: consent to an electronic signature disclosure, an emailed one-time verification code, a hash-chained audit trail, and a tamper-evident seal on the signed PDF.
2. Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) — uniquely linked to the signer and created using means under the signer's sole control, typically issued by a trust service provider. DocFila does not currently offer an AES: its PDF seal uses a one-time, self-signed DocFila certificate, not a certificate that establishes signer identity binding.
3. Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) — an AES backed by a qualified certificate from a UK-recognised Trust Service Provider. DocFila does not offer QES. If a transaction requires one, use a qualified trust service provider directly.
Wills, codicils and lasting powers of attorney still require physical signatures and witnesses under the Wills Act 1837 and Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Some land transactions: while a land contract can be e-signed under the Land Registration Act 2002, the registration deed itself currently still requires the wet-ink procedure or a Mercury-style print-and-sign workflow.
Certain consumer credit agreements regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 retain prescribed-form requirements.
Every signed document in DocFila gets a SHA-256 fingerprint and a hash-chained audit trail — server timestamp, IP address, device (user agent), and each consent, verification and signature event. Anyone holding the document can re-check that fingerprint against DocFila's record to see whether it has changed since signing.
If a question arises about whether a contract was altered after signing, the SHA-256 hash and audit trail are the evidence DocFila can provide; the free verify tool at docfila.com/verify checks a document's hash against DocFila's record. Whether that evidence is sufficient in a given UK dispute is a question for counsel, not a guarantee DocFila can make.
Employment contracts and IR35 contractor agreements.
Tenancy agreements and assured shorthold tenancies (AST).
Supplier MSAs, NDAs and statements of work.
Board resolutions and shareholder consents.
Letters of intent, heads of terms, and term sheets.
Keep going with the document workflow that matches this page. Open the tool you need, then finish the file in DocFila.
Scan, sign, edit, translate, and store your documents in one app. Free to download, with optional paid features. No ads.
Or open the web app in any browser.