Legal
When a notary is needed and when not
Electronic signature covers a lot, but not everything. Where the line is.
The question arrives as soon as someone gets used to signing without travelling: does this count too? The short answer is that most business-to-business contracts do, and a few do not — and the few that do not are fairly well defined.
The line, broadly
| Type of document | Normally |
|---|---|
| Commercial contracts between companies | Electronic signature suffices |
| Employment agreements and amendments | Electronic signature suffices |
| Professional engagements and sign-offs | Electronic signature suffices |
| Acts the law subjects to a notarial deed | A notary is required, and electronic signature does not replace one |
| Acts requiring registration | Check: the formal requirement governs |
Important
Where the law requires a form — a notarial deed, notarial intervention, registration — that form is a requirement, not a recommendation. No electronic signature, however advanced, replaces it, and signing that way an act which required it can leave it ineffective.
What electronic signature does solve in those cases
Everything around the notarial act: the preliminary agreement, prior sign-offs, the documentation to be gathered beforehand, later amendments. That is usually ninety per cent of the paperwork, and where the time goes.
Watch out
This article cannot tell you whether your specific document needs a notary. What it can do is prevent the reverse mistake: do not stop signing everything else electronically because of doubt about one.
Worth knowing
If you have recurring doubts about one document type, ask your adviser once and write the answer down. It is a consultation that serves every later case.
›Can something signed electronically be notarised?
That is a question for your notary; it depends on the document and how it was signed.
›Is it valid outside Spain?
The European framework recognises electronic signatures across the EU; outside it depends on the country.
›Does a qualified signature replace a notary?
No. They are different things covering different requirements.
A real case
The situation
A company stops signing commercial contracts electronically over doubt about one that needed a notary.
What you do
- Asks once which types require a formal deed
- Keeps signing the rest electronically
What you get
Recovers the saving on 95% of its documents without risking the 5% that genuinely required the form.
The situation
Something that did not need it is taken to the notary.
What you do
- Checks beforehand what that act requires
What you get
A formality and a cost are saved.
The situation
Something that did require it is signed without a notary.
What you do
- Checks with the adviser before signing
What you get
The act happens where it should.
The situation
A document is missing on signing day.
What you do
- Checks the list in advance
What you get
The appointment is not repeated.
The situation
The notarial copy is kept in a drawer.
What you do
- Captures and stores it in the file
What you get
It is found without going to the archive.
The situation
A copy is requested years later.
What you do
- Keeps the file with its date
What you get
The request is resolved without a new formality.
This article answers
- can i sign this without a notary
- which documents need a notarial deed
- does electronic signature replace a notary
- notarising an electronically signed contract