Can property documents be signed electronically in the UK?

Which documents does a property sale involve?

A house sale produces several documents, and they do not all follow the same rules. It helps to take them one at a time.

The contract is the agreement to buy and sell. The transfer is what actually moves ownership from one person to another. A mortgage secures a loan against the property. A lease gives someone the right to occupy it for a set period. Each is signed differently.

Can the contract be signed electronically?

Yes. The law sets three conditions for a contract to sell land. It must be in writing. It must contain all the terms both sides agreed. And each side must sign it.

Nothing in that requires ink.

The Law Commission looked at this in 2019 and set out the position clearly. An electronic signature can be used to sign a document, including a deed, as long as the person signing means to authenticate it and any other formalities are met. No witness is needed for a contract.

There are three exceptions. Short leases, sales at public auction, and certain financial contracts regulated under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

What about the transfer and the mortgage?

These are deeds, and deeds come with an extra rule. When a person signs a deed, someone else has to watch them do it and then sign as a witness.

That witness must be physically present. Watching by video call does not count, even when everyone is signing electronically. The Law Commission said so directly in 2019, concluding that the law requires the witness to be physically present, and nothing has changed since. For the detail, including who can act as a witness, see Can an electronic signature be witnessed?.

If the buyer or seller is a company rather than a person, the rules are easier. This applies to buy-to-let landlords who own through a limited company, and to most commercial property. A company can sign a deed using two authorised signatories, such as two directors, or a director and the company secretary. No witness is needed at all, and the two people do not have to be in the same place when they sign.

What does HM Land Registry accept?

HM Land Registry has accepted electronically signed deeds since 27 July 2020. There are now three routes, and they work differently.

• Conveyancer-certified electronic signatures. Everyone involved needs a conveyancer acting for them, with a few exceptions. The signing platform texts a one-time code to each signer and each witness. The signer signs while the witness watches in the room. The witness then signs and adds their address. Finally a conveyancer confirms to HM Land Registry that the rules were followed.
• Qualified electronic signature. This is a stronger type of signature where the signer’s identity is checked in advance, so no witness is needed. It works because these documents are not technically deeds, even though they can still transfer ownership. Since June 2026 this route covers any transaction that has to be registered. For which platforms support each route, see Which e-signature platforms meet HM Land Registry requirements for property transactions?.
• Mercury signing. The signature page is printed and signed in ink in front of a witness, then scanned and emailed back with the full document. It is not electronic signing, but HM Land Registry accepts it, and it has its own section in practice guide 82. There is more on how it works below.

Is Mercury signing the same as electronic signing?

No. Despite the name sounding technical, Mercury signing needs a real signature in ink on paper. It is a way of signing at a distance, not a way of avoiding the pen.

It works in four steps.

1. The conveyancer emails out the final version of the document.
2. The person signing prints just the signature page.
3. They sign that page in ink, in front of a witness.
4. Then they scan or photograph it and reply with a single email attaching two things, the full document and the scan of the signed page.

Sending both attachments in one email is the part that matters. It is what ties the signature to that exact version of the document.

So if your conveyancer says you can use a Mercury signature, expect to print something. If they then send you an e-signing link instead, one of you has misunderstood, and it is worth asking before you sign anything.

What about leases?

It depends on the length, and the rules differ enough that this is worth checking rather than assuming. Longer leases are granted by deed, which brings in the witness requirement. Short leases, as defined in section 54(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925, are treated more lightly and sit outside section 2 of the 1989 Act altogether. Ask your conveyancer which category applies before deciding how to sign.

Is Scotland the same?

No. Scotland has its own law, the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, and the differences are significant for property.

The main one is that having a witness does not give an electronic document its strongest legal status in Scotland. Only a qualified electronic signature does that. Scottish property documents need that status to be registered, so they need a qualified signature. The conveyancer-certified route used in England and Wales does not exist in Scotland. See Are electronic signatures legally binding in Scotland?.

What cannot be signed electronically?

Wills. A will must be signed on paper in front of two witnesses who are both in the room (Wills Act 1837, section 9). A temporary rule allowing witnesses to watch by video call during the pandemic ended on 31 January 2024 and was not renewed. Even then, the signature itself had to be in ink.

Statutory declarations are also out. These have to be made in front of someone authorised to administer oaths, such as a solicitor. HM Land Registry allows statements of truth to be signed the Mercury way, but not statutory declarations.

Beyond those, most property documents can be signed electronically using the right method. For the wider list of exclusions across all types of document, see What documents cannot be signed electronically?.

What should you check before signing?

• Ask your conveyancer which method they are using. The three routes (conveyancer-certified electronic signatures, qualified electronic signatures, and Mercury signing) have different rules and cannot be mixed on the same document.
• If you need a witness, sort one out in advance. They have to be in the room, they cannot be someone else signing the same document, and they will need to give their full name and address.
• Check whether your lender has its own requirements, since some are stricter than HM Land Registry.
• If the property is in Scotland, do not assume the English process applies.