E-signatures · How it works
How to sign on behalf of a company
To sign for a company, make sure you have authority, then sign in a block that names the company, your name and your title, under words such as for and on behalf of. That shows you signed as the company's officer or agent, not personally. Formal execution may need two directors, or a director and secretary.
The company is the party; the person signing only carries the pen. Getting the block right is what keeps the obligation with the company and off the signer.
Indunil Asanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
| Element | Personal signature block | Company signature block |
|---|---|---|
| Opening words | Signed by | Signed for and on behalf of [Company] by |
| Name | Your name | Your name, plus the company name and ACN or company number |
| Title | None | Director, Secretary or the role giving authority |
| Who is bound | You personally | The company |
| Formal execution | Not applicable | Two directors, or a director and secretary, in Australia and the UK |
- 1
Confirm your authority
Check you are a director or officer, or hold a written delegation or board resolution covering this contract and its value.
- 2
Check how the document must be executed
Ordinary contracts can be signed by an authorised person; deeds and some formal documents may need two officers or a witness.
- 3
Use a company signature block
Name the company, include its company number, and start with for and on behalf of.
- 4
Sign and add your name and title
Sign, print your full name and your title, and date the block.
- 5
Add the second officer if needed
Where the company executes formally, have the second director or the secretary sign their own block.
Why the block matters
A company is a separate legal person, so it can only act through people. When a director signs a contract in a block that names the company and their role, the company is bound and the director is not. When the same director signs a bare signature line with only their own name, the other side can argue the director contracted personally, or that the company never agreed. Courts look at the whole document, but a clear block avoids the argument entirely. This page is general information; the company's constitution and the law of its country decide.
Australia: section 127
Section 127 of the Corporations Act 2001 lets an Australian company execute a document without a seal if it is signed by two directors, a director and a company secretary, or, for a proprietary company with a sole director who is also the sole secretary, that director. A person dealing with the company may assume a document signed this way was properly executed. Other contracts can be signed by an agent with authority, such as a manager under a delegation, and section 126 lets a company make contracts through people acting with its express or implied authority.
United Kingdom: section 44
Under section 44 of the Companies Act 2006, a document is executed by a company if it is signed by two authorised signatories, meaning directors or the secretary, or by one director in the presence of a witness who attests the signature. Section 43 covers contracts made by a person acting under the company's authority. A deed also has to be delivered as a deed, which section 46 addresses.
Common mistakes
Signing alone where the deal or the document needs two officers. Leaving out the company name and number, so the block reads like a personal signature. Using a trading name instead of the registered company name. Signing as director of the wrong company in a group. And signing a personal guarantee in the same block as the company signature, when a guarantee is a separate promise that should have its own block.
Company signatures in the product
In the e-sign module, a signature block field prints up to four lines, Name, Title, Company and Date, with an optional role heading in capitals such as FOR COPPERLEAF DIGITAL PTY LTD. The signer types the Title and Company values themselves, because the sender cannot pre-fill any field, and the Date line is stamped when they sign. For two director execution, add each director as a separate recipient with their own block.
Questions people ask
Can one director sign for a company?
For many ordinary contracts, yes, if the director has authority to make that contract. For formal execution under section 127 in Australia, a single director is enough only for a proprietary company whose sole director is also the sole secretary. Otherwise use two officers, or a director with a witness in the UK.
Should I write for and on behalf of or on behalf of?
Either signals agency; for and on behalf of is the traditional company form. What matters more is that the company's registered name and number and your title appear in the block. A phrase without the company details, or company details without your title, leaves room for doubt.
Can an employee who is not a director sign for the company?
Yes, if the company has authorised them, for example a purchasing officer within a spending limit. The other party is entitled to ask for evidence of that authority on larger contracts. Without it, the company may later deny it agreed, and the employee may be liable for claiming authority they did not have.
Does a company still need a common seal?
No, not in Australia or the UK. Companies may still use a seal if they choose, and the constitution may say how. Most now execute by officer signatures, which also work well with electronic signing because there is no physical object to apply.
Can a company sign a contract electronically?
Generally yes. Australian law has allowed companies to execute documents electronically under section 127 since amendments made permanent in 2022, and most ordinary contracts can be signed electronically in the UK. Deeds and land documents can carry extra requirements, so check the document type before sending it.
Make one with e-signatures
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
Send a document for signingRelated questions
- What is a common seal?A common seal is a company stamp with its name and ACN. Australian companies may still use one, but section 127 lets them sign without it.
- What is a signatory?What is a signatory: the person who signs a document and is bound by it, how an authorised signatory differs, and how companies, witnesses and recipients fit.
- What is an execution block in a contract?An execution block is the signing section at the end of a contract or deed: wording that shows who signs and on what authority. Company and deed forms compared.
Step by step in the builder: Add several signers to one document.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .