E-signatures · Glossary
What does fully executed mean?
A fully executed contract is one that every party required to sign has signed, in the form the contract and the law require. Until the last signature is in place the document is only partly executed, and depending on its terms it may not yet bind anyone, even if one side has already signed.
The phrase shows up in emails such as please send the fully executed copy, and in contracts that say they take effect on full execution. It matters because the moment of the final signature often decides when obligations start and which version of the document is the one that counts.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
| Stage | What has happened | Can it usually be relied on |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Terms agreed in principle, nobody has signed | No |
| Partly executed | One or more parties have signed, at least one has not | Usually not, unless conduct or the terms say otherwise |
| Fully executed | Every required party has signed in the required form | Yes, subject to any conditions |
| Effective | The start date or condition in the contract has arrived | Obligations now run |
| Delivered (deeds) | The signed deed has been delivered or the parties intend to be bound | A deed binds from delivery |
Execution, signing and effect
To execute a document means to carry out the formalities that make it legally operative, which for most contracts means signing it, and for some documents means signing in a prescribed way, such as before a witness or under a company's execution provisions. Fully executed simply adds that all of those formalities have been completed by everyone who needs to complete them. A contract can be fully executed but not yet effective, for example when it states a later start date or depends on a condition such as finance approval. It can also be effective without a signature at all, where the parties' conduct shows they agreed, which is why many contracts say expressly that they bind only once fully executed.
Who has to sign
The contract decides. A two party agreement needs both parties; a deed of guarantee may need the guarantor and a witness; a company usually signs through two directors, a director and a secretary, or a sole director, under section 127 of the Corporations Act in Australia. Each signer must have authority, and a person signing for a company or a partnership should state the capacity they sign in. If a required signatory is missing, the copy that everybody has filed is only partly executed, however official it looks.
Electronic signing and full execution
Electronic signatures can fully execute most contracts. In Australia the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 treats an electronic method as meeting a signature requirement when it identifies the person and shows their intention, is reliable for the purpose and the other party consents. In the United States the ESIGN Act stops a contract being denied effect only because an electronic signature was used, and the Law Commission of England and Wales concluded in 2019 that an electronic signature can validly execute a document. Some documents, such as certain land dealings, wills and witnessed deeds, still carry extra formalities that a plain electronic signature may not meet.
Common mistakes
Treating a document as executed when the other side has only emailed agreement. Starting work on a partly executed copy and then finding the counterparty never signed. Letting each side sign a different version, so no single copy carries every signature. Leaving the date blank or using the date the first person signed when the contract runs from the last. Forgetting to circulate the final copy, so one party keeps a version without the other's signature. And signing for a company without stating the office held.
What a completed envelope gives you
In the e-sign tool every recipient who must sign has to have at least one signature, initials or signature block field before the envelope can be sent, and with Sign in order switched on each signer is invited only after those before them have signed. When the last signer finishes, the envelope status becomes completed, the PDF is certified so later changes are detectable, and a Completed email goes to every recipient and the sender with the certified PDF attached. A certificate of completion is issued as a separate file listing each signer, their verification method, the time they signed and their IP address, which is the record that shows the document was fully executed and when.
Questions people ask
Is a contract valid if only one party signs it?
Sometimes. A contract can be binding without every signature where the parties' conduct shows agreement, such as accepting goods or paying invoices, unless the document says it binds only once signed by all parties. Relying on that is risky, so it is better to get the missing signature or confirm agreement in writing before performing.
What date is a fully executed contract dated?
Unless the contract says otherwise, it is commonly dated on the day the last required party signs, because that is when it becomes fully executed. Many agreements state an effective date separately, which can be earlier or later. Avoid leaving the date line blank for someone else to fill in after the fact.
Can I send a fully executed contract as a scan?
Usually yes for ordinary contracts, as long as every signature page is part of the same agreed version. Counterpart clauses let each party sign a separate identical copy that together form one document. Deeds and documents lodged with registries may need originals or a prescribed electronic process, so check before relying on a scan.
Who keeps the fully executed copy?
Every party should hold a complete copy with all signatures, not just their own signed page. In electronic signing each recipient normally receives the final copy automatically. Keep it with the audit evidence, such as a certificate of completion, for as long as claims under the contract could be brought.
What does executed in counterparts mean?
It means each party signs a separate copy of the same document, and the signed copies together count as one fully executed agreement. It saves posting one original around for signatures. The contract needs a counterparts clause, and every copy must be identical, or the parties may disagree later about which terms they signed.
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 an electronic seal?An electronic seal is data an organisation attaches to a file to prove its origin and integrity under eIDAS. Seal against signature, and the three levels.
- What is a certificate authority?A certificate authority issues and revokes the certificates that sign PDFs and secure websites. Root and intermediate CAs, trust lists, and unknown validity.
- 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 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 e-signatures with multiple signers, then Send a PDF for e-signature.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .