Are electronic signatures legal in the Philippines?

Yes. Republic Act 8792, the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000, gives electronic signatures and documents the same legal effect as handwritten ones when the signature identifies the signer, shows intent, and is made by a reliable method.

Does a lease need to be notarised?

Not to be valid between the parties. Notarisation makes the document a public instrument, which matters for registration and for some court and bank purposes. Many landlords notarise leases over a year; it is done on a printed copy.

What if a tenant says they never signed?

The evidence page shows who was signed in, the hash of the exact document, the server time, the network address and browser, and the consent tick. That is what a court weighs.

Clients and tenancies5 min read

Electronic signatures in the Philippines: what RA 8792 lets you do and how the platform proves a signature

The law has allowed electronic signatures on contracts since 2000. The question a landlord actually has is narrower: if this tenant disputes the lease, what can I show? Here is the answer.

By the end of this pageYou will know what the law requires, what evidence the platform keeps for each signature, and the cases where a notarised paper copy is still the right call.

On this page

What the law says, briefly What the platform records When paper is still right Signing on your side

What proves a signatureAnimated

What the law says, briefly

Republic Act 8792 gives an electronic signature the same effect as a handwritten one when it identifies the person, shows they intended to sign, and was made by a method that is reliable and appropriate for the purpose. It does not prescribe a technology. A typed name can be enough if the surrounding evidence is good; a drawn scribble can be worthless if it is not.

What the platform records

Six things, for every signature, sealed into an evidence page at the end of the signed PDF: who (signed in to their own portal account, with their second factor if enabled), what (a cryptographic hash of the exact document they saw — change a comma and it no longer matches), when (server time to the second), where from (network address and browser), consent (the tick that says they agree to sign electronically), and retention (the originals in the audit log, unchangeable from the app). The tenant's drawn or typed signature is there too, but it is the least important of the seven.

When paper is still right

Notarisation. Needed for registration with the Registry of Deeds (leases over a year that you want binding on a buyer) and sometimes asked for by banks and courts. Done on a printed copy; upload the scan and the platform files it as signed on paper.
A tenant without a phone or email. The portal needs one or the other. Print, sign, scan.
A company signatory whose board resolution requires wet ink. Same.

Signing on your side

The landlord's signature is recorded the same way, against your staff account. If someone else in the office prepares leases, make sure the person who signs is the person with authority to — the evidence page will name whoever pressed the button.

This is a description of the law as it bears on a lease, not legal advice. For a dispute you expect to reach a court, have a lawyer look at the evidence page once so you know what it shows before you need it to show it.