Men witnessing documents electronically

Witness agreements with DocuSign eSignature

Speak to an expert

Avoid the costs, errors, and time associated with manual witnessing

DocuSign provides solutions for signing and witnessing deeds and other agreements in the UK, including HMLR deeds. DocuSign eSignature and its DocuSign eWitness feature allow users to identify one or more individuals to witness the execution of deeds and other important agreements. For your clients, it’s fast and convenient. For you, it eliminates delays, reduces costs and allows you to capture signer and witness details for traceability and audit. Once the agreement has been signed, you have access to a downloadable Certificate of Completion that can serve as important evidence of signing and witnessing should you ever need it. The Certificate presents details about the signing and witnessing parties, including location, email address, IP address and time stamps.

Benefits

Clock moving quickly

Get going quickly

Flexible, easily configurable and easy to use for all parties, including senders, signers and witnesses.

Target

Accelerate agreement completion

Digitise manual and paper-based processes to speed up the contracting process.

Reduce risk

Reduce Risk

When signing documents where electronic witnessing is desired, DocuSign eSignature provides the flexibility to choose between witnessed electronic signatures or digital signatures, including Advanced and Qualified signatures (AES and QES) that require identity verification and authentication before a digital certificate is issued.

Capture evidence

Capture court-admissible evidence

Get a Certificate of Completion that provides proof of signing and witnessing by capturing key transaction information such as IP address and time stamps. This information can often help provide evidence for the transaction in the event of a legal dispute.

Save time and money

Save time and money

Avoid the costs, errors, and time associated with manual witnessing.

Solution features

With a robust set of functionality, DocuSign eSignature allows seamless and secure electronic witnessing.

Automated workflows

Set up automated workflows with specific signing and witnessing order, to meet your specific requirements.

Quick setup

Easy to configure and use for all parties, including senders, signers and witnesses.

Flexibility

Add several witnesses per signer. Each signer will be able to choose their witness(es) and complete the witness(es) details, including name and email address.

Traceability and auditability

Capture detailed information about signers and witnesses through the Certificate of Completion, which can help provide proof of the signing in the event of a legal dispute.

Enhanced security

Unparalleled security with strong encryption practices. DocuSign meets the highest security and confidentiality standards.

Signer authentication

Choose from multiple methods of advanced authentication like SMS one-time passwords for high-value transactions and HMLR deeds.

Confidentiality*

Limited witness access to agreements post-signing. Witnesses do not have access to the final executed agreements.

*Only available with the add-on eWitness feature
DocuSign eWitness webinar

Enabling electronic witnessing in the UK

In this on-demand webinar, special guest David Gent from British law firm Bird & Bird discusses witnessing in the UK and shares some best practices around electronic witnessing with regards to deeds.
Watch Now

Key use cases in the UK

DocuSign eSignature and DocuSign eWitness can be used for many types of agreements:

Deeds

HM Land Registry

Mortgage Agreements

Loan Agreements

Patents

Separation Agreements

Guarantor Documents

Short Hold Tenancies

Shareholder Agreements

Partnership Agreements

FAQ

DocuSign eSignature enables you to sign agreements with one or several witnesses and authenticate both the signer and the witness. For example, DocuSign eSignature provides several workflow options for signing HMLR deeds. In some instances, you may choose to use the eWitness feature if there’s a confidentiality requirement to limit witness access to the document post-signing for deeds. Note: DocuSign eWtiness doesn’t support HMLR transaction deeds at this time.
Setting up a DocuSign eSignature envelope that requires a witnessed signature is similar to the regular process for sending envelopes that require an electronic signature. The main difference is in how you create the recipients for your envelope. An envelope can include both signers who require a witness as well as regular recipients, and you can use a signing order to create a workflow for your envelope.

Yes, a DocuSign eSignature envelope can include both witnesses and regular recipients, and customers can set the signing order to create a workflow for their envelopes.

Some advanced features and options are supported only in certain DocuSign eSignature plans. Please contact your Account Manager to understand how you can get started right away.

Start witnessing electronically today

Talk to an expert