What “UK compliant” means here

A signature made here is a simple electronic signature. Section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 says an electronic signature is admissible in evidence. Retained UK eIDAS rules say a signature is not refused legal effect only because it is electronic.

The Law Commission’s 2019 report (Law Com No 386) is the usual reference point: an electronic signature can execute a document, including where statute requires a signature, if the person intends to authenticate it and any other formalities are met. ChickenSign records that intention in the words the signer has to accept.

This is not an advanced or qualified electronic signature. There is no qualified certificate and no signature-creation device. Do not describe a ChickenSign signature as QES, and do not use it where a client or a registry has asked for one.

• The document text is locked when you send it. Later signatures do not rewrite the clauses.
• A SHA-256 fingerprint of that text is stored when you send.
• A second fingerprint covers the text plus the signatures when everyone has signed.
• The audit notes who opened the link, the consent wording, and the London time of each step.
• There is no blockchain and no public ledger. The certificate lives in your desk. Keep your own copy of the signed document. Anyone with the certificate code can check the fingerprints, not the commercial terms.

• Wills and codicils

  England, Wales and Northern Ireland still need a wet-ink signature in front of two witnesses. Scotland also expects writing and witnesses.

• Lasting powers of attorney

  The Office of the Public Guardian has its own signing rules. This room is not that process.

• Statutory declarations

  These are sworn or affirmed in person.

• Deeds, including land transfers

  A deed needs the formalities in the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, including a witness who is physically present. HM Land Registry only accepts its own conveyancer-certified route for registrable deeds. ChickenSign does not do that.

A company can sign an ordinary contract by someone with authority. ChickenSign does not carry out deed execution under section 44 of the Companies Act 2006, and it does not witness a signature. Video witnessing is not offered.

ChickenSign does not write your quotes, engagement letters, or any other document. You upload the PDF. If you contract with a consumer at a distance or away from your premises, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 may give them a 14-day cancellation right. Some urgent repairs and made-to-measure work are treated differently. Put the information a trader has to give in the PDF you upload. This page is not a substitute for that.

You choose England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland for the governing-law sentence. Commercial service contracts are widely signed electronically in all three. Scotland’s Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 still matters for some formal writings. If you are unsure, do not use this room for that document.

You are the controller of your client’s details and of the contract text. ChickenSign stores them so you can run the signing room and keep the record. The default retention on a document is six years, the usual limitation period for a simple contract in England and Wales. Twelve years is available if you want the longer deed period, even though this tool does not make deeds.

Do not put special-category data in a document — health, race, religion, biometrics — unless you already have a lawful reason to. You can export your desk or delete a document. Deleting a completed envelope means the certificate code will stop verifying. Signers should ask you, not ChickenSign, for a copy of their agreement.

The app does not sell document data, and it does not send marketing email.

The privacy notice and terms of service set out how the service handles data and what you agree to when you open an account.