Why are physical signatures still required for deeds?: Forum

Singapore has made significant strides in digitalisation. Many contracts can now be signed electronically, yet certain documents executed as deeds still have stricter signing requirements.

Deeds serve important legal purposes, and their execution requirements help safeguard against fraud and disputes. However, does their legal significance necessarily justify requiring physical signatures?

Electronic signing platforms can provide identity verification, timestamps, tamper-evident records and audit trails. These safeguards can help establish who signed a document, and whether it has been altered. Physical signatures, meanwhile, are not immune to forgery.

Requiring physical signing can create unnecessary costs and inconvenience, especially when parties are overseas, elderly, have mobility difficulties or need to coordinate signing across multiple locations. Printing, arranging couriers and obtaining wet-ink signatures add administrative burdens that digital solutions could eliminate.

As Singapore pursues its smart nation ambitions, it is worth asking whether these requirements have kept pace with technological progress.

I urge the relevant ministries and regulators to review the rules governing deeds, and consult legal practitioners and the public on enabling secure electronic execution. A risk-based framework could require robust identity verification, reliable audit trails and appropriate witnessing or attestation, with additional safeguards for higher-risk transactions.

Not every deed needs identical treatment. Electronic methods that can provide equivalent protection should be permitted.

The objective is not to weaken legal safeguards, but to modernise the process without compromising security.

If electronic signatures are sufficiently reliable for many contracts, regulators should explain why deeds must be treated differently, and allow electronic execution wherever the risks can be adequately managed.

A digital-first Singapore should embrace secure, convenient alternatives to pen and paper, rather than preserve traditional processes by default.

Josephine Lim Teo Hwee

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

ADV: Launch Webinar: CoCounsel Legal Fiduciary-Grade AI™ How a doctor lost $600k after acting as a loan guarantor for his boss’ clinic