E-signatures: what you can sign
Last reviewed: November 7, 2026
Across Canada, an electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten one for most business documents, as long as the person intends to sign and agrees to sign electronically. A few kinds of documents still need ink, a witness, a notary or a special process. This page shows which is which.
Important: this page is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and change over time, and a regulator, lender, insurer or government office can ask for more. For wills, land, sworn documents or anything high-value, check with a lawyer.
The law in short
- Every province and territory has an electronic commerce law based on the same national model (for example Manitoba’s Electronic Commerce and Information Act, Ontario’s Electronic Commerce Act, Alberta’s and British Columbia’s Electronic Transactions Acts). They let an electronic signature meet a legal signature requirement when the other person consents.
- Quebec uses the Civil Code and its information technology act. Any personal mark counts as a signature when the process reliably links the person to the document.
- Federal law (PIPEDA) accepts electronic signatures for federal documents. A stricter “secure electronic signature” from a government-recognized certificate authority is needed only for a few federal documents, such as sworn statements, statutory declarations and seals.
- Canadian courts have generally upheld e-signatures where the intent to sign and the consent are clear.
Usually not e-signable anywhere in Canada
| Document | Why |
|---|
| ✕ Wills, codicils and trusts created by a will | Excluded from provincial e-commerce laws; wills laws set their own signing and witness rules |
| ✕ Powers of attorney, personal and health-care directives | Excluded in most provinces; witness rules apply |
| ✕ Documents creating or transferring an interest in land | Excluded or handled through each province’s land registration system |
| ✕ Cheques and other negotiable instruments | Excluded from provincial e-commerce laws |
| ✕ Affidavits and statutory declarations | Must be sworn before a commissioner for oaths or a notary |
| ✕ Copyright assignments | The federal Copyright Act requires a written, signed assignment |
| ! Guarantees | Excluded in some provinces (for example Alberta) |
| ! Documents for a government office, lender or regulator | Follow their own signing instructions |
By profession
Trades & contractors
| You can e-sign with RavunoQ | Use ink, a witness, a notary or another process |
|---|
- Quotes and estimates (customer approval)
- Service, installation and maintenance contracts
- Change orders and extra-work approvals
- Work orders, job completion and site sign-offs
- Subcontractor agreements
- Equipment rental and safety acknowledgements
| - Statutory declarations (for example for builders’ liens or holdbacks): need a commissioner for oaths
- Personal guarantees in some provinces (for example Alberta)
- Anything your customer’s bank, insurer or a government body says must be signed by hand
|
Realtors
| You can e-sign with RavunoQ | Use ink, a witness, a notary or another process |
|---|
- Listing agreements and buyer representation agreements
- Offers to purchase, counter-offers, amendments and waivers of conditions
- Disclosure and acknowledgement forms
- Referral agreements
| - Transfer of land and other documents registered at Land Titles: these go through a lawyer and each province’s land registration system
- Anything your provincial real estate regulator or brokerage says must be signed by hand
- Client ID verification for FINTRAC is a separate step: an e-signature does not verify identity
|
Mortgage professionals
| You can e-sign with RavunoQ | Use ink, a witness, a notary or another process |
|---|
- Mortgage applications and credit-check consents
- Broker disclosure statements and engagement agreements
- Commitment letter acceptance, when the lender allows e-signatures
| - The mortgage (charge) itself and other documents registered against land: signed through the lawyer
- Statutory declarations and sworn documents
- Guarantees in provinces that exclude them, and anything the lender requires in ink
|
Insurance brokers
| You can e-sign with RavunoQ | Use ink, a witness, a notary or another process |
|---|
- Insurance applications and quote acceptances
- Broker-of-record letters and client agreements
- Consent forms and acknowledgements
| - In Quebec: consent to reduce the insurer’s liability or increase the insured’s obligations (other than a higher premium in non-marine insurance)
- Sworn proofs of loss and statutory declarations
- Anything the insurer requires to be signed by hand
|
Lawyers & law firms
| You can e-sign with RavunoQ | Use ink, a witness, a notary or another process |
|---|
- Retainer and engagement letters, and fee agreements
- Most commercial contracts, NDAs and settlement agreements
- Client consents and acknowledgements
| - Wills and codicils, and trusts created by a will (provincial wills laws apply)
- Powers of attorney, and personal or health-care directives
- Affidavits and statutory declarations: need a commissioner or notary (some provinces allow remote commissioning)
- Documents that create or transfer an interest in land
- Documents that must be signed before a Quebec notary
|
Immigration consultants
| You can e-sign with RavunoQ | Use ink, a witness, a notary or another process |
|---|
- Client retainer agreements
- Client consent and acknowledgement forms
- Fee agreements and payment plans
| - Government forms (for example IRCC forms): follow the signing instructions on each form. Some need the applicant’s own handwritten or specific digital signature
- Statutory declarations and sworn documents
|
Retail & grocery stores
| You can e-sign with RavunoQ | Use ink, a witness, a notary or another process |
|---|
- Supplier and vendor agreements, and purchase orders
- Special-order and layaway agreements with customers
- Employee offer letters and policy acknowledgements
- Delivery and pickup receipts
| - Cheques and other negotiable instruments
- Personal guarantees on supplier credit in provinces that exclude them
|
Restaurants
| You can e-sign with RavunoQ | Use ink, a witness, a notary or another process |
|---|
- Catering and event contracts, and deposit agreements
- Supplier and delivery agreements
- Employee offer letters and policy acknowledgements
- Lease amendments, when the landlord agrees to e-signatures
| - Cheques and other negotiable instruments
- Licence applications that a government body requires in another form
|
How RavunoQ protects your signed documents
- ✓ Consent: every signer must tick “I agree to sign electronically” before signing.
- ✓ Initials and signature: initials on every page, full signature on the last.
- ✓ Tamper-evident: a SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact document signed. Any change after signing shows.
- ✓ Certificate of completion: a record of who signed, when, and from which device, kept with the document.
RavunoQ’s certificate of completion is evidence that a person signed a document. It is not a government-recognized digital certificate, so it does not make an excluded document valid.
Sources
Questions? support@ravunoq.com
