Singapore government passes bill allowing digital signing of legal documents

Long regarded as a great place to do business, Singapore has just become even more business-friendly thanks to two new Bills recently passed in Singapore’s parliament. The government has just given electronic signatures the green light for certain legal documents, along with the ability to take oaths via videoconference.

The passing of the two Bills — namely, the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore Bill and the Oaths, Declarations and Notarisations (Remote Methods) Bill — is a welcome move for organisations keen to move at the pace of modern business. By doing away with the need for wet ink signatures, organisations can get agreements like statutory declarations and bills of sale signed faster than ever. 

The decision reflects the ongoing trend towards digitisation, with governing bodies recognising that solutions like Docusign eSignature provide a high degree of security for Singaporeans.

“Docusign welcomes the Singapore Government’s decision to pass two Bills in Parliament, allowing the use of digital alternatives for document signing and official oaths,” said Kartik Krishnamurthy, Docusign Area Vice President, Asia. “This change supports innovation and the digitalisation of business processes in the region, enabling economic growth and making business easier for the communities where we live and work.”

Docusign already well-established in Singapore market

Docusign has been a key part of the signing experience for Singpass, Singapore’s national digital identity service, since 2021. With Singaporeans already familiar with the end-to-end digital signature experience for everything from bank loan agreements to the nomination of beneficiaries in insurance, businesses in Singapore can now use electronic signatures for legal documents too. 

“Docusign is an authorised platform for the use of legal eSignatures. The introduction of the legislation provides businesses and individuals across Singapore the confidence to adopt electronic technologies like Docusign eSignature to harmonise and achieve significant efficiencies and cost savings,” Kartik said. 

By switching to Docusign eSignature, organisations can reap a range of benefits, including:

• Cost savings. Digitising the agreement process helps reduce hard costs like printing and postage, while improving employee productivity. 

• Risk reduction. Docusign eSignature comes with enterprise-grade security and compliance controls, plus an added layer of security with enhanced signer identification and robust threat detection capabilities.

• Enhanced customer experience. Customers appreciate the speed and convenience of being able to sign business agreements from anywhere, on any device. And, with digital ID verification embedded, the process of identity verification is a lot easier, too. 

The new Bills will impact organisations across a range of industries — including real estate, financial services and the government sector. “We believe this initiative will significantly improve the lives of Singaporeans by simplifying and expediting various processes,” said Kartik.

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