LEO Sign: Sign documents with Singpass

We are launching LEO Sign, a way to sign documents with Singpass on our own website. LEO Sign is the digital signing service of Loh Eben Ong LLP, a Singapore law firm and Notary Public, and it lets clients sign and endorse documents using their verified Singpass identity.

It sits alongside how we already work rather than replacing it. Most matters still bring you to our office, and where the law or the document requires you to attend in person, you will still attend. What LEO Sign adds is a verified signature at the points where one is useful, and a good deal less shuffling of paper.

You will not need an account, a password, or any software. You receive an email from us with a link, you review the document, and you sign it with the Singpass app on your phone. The whole thing takes about two minutes.

Client using LEO Sign to sign documents with SingPass

In short: sign documents with Singpass

  • LEO Sign lets you sign documents with Singpass on law.com.sg, with no account, no password and nothing to install.
  • You open a link we email you, review the document, and approve it in the Singpass app. It takes about two minutes.
  • Where a document is heading for notarisation, your Singpass endorsement ties it to a verified identity before you attend our office.
  • Some documents still need wet ink, including wills and conveyances of property, because the Electronic Transactions Act 2010 excludes them.
  • The service is soft-launch mode and there is no fee charged to clients for signing.
Diagram showing how LEO Sign works, from a signing request or client upload through Singpass signing to the signed copy and the notary's identity check.

Why we built Singpass signing into law.com.sg

The courts have used digital signing through eLitigation for years. The idea is sound: a signature tied to a verified identity is worth a great deal more than a scanned squiggle on a PDF. We wanted that same assurance for our own work, on our own website, without asking clients to navigate a third party system to sign a document for their lawyer.

How to sign documents with Singpass

Here is what happens when you sign documents with Singpass:

  1. You receive an email from us naming the document we are asking you to sign.
  2. The link opens a page on law.com.sg showing what the document is and what you are signing.
  3. You tap “Sign with Singpass” and approve it in your Singpass app, the same way you would log in to CPF or IRAS.
  4. We return you to our page, where you can download your signed copy straight away.

You install nothing, and you remember nothing for next time.

Notarial work: Singpass signing and knowing who signed

This is the part we care most about.

Fake and doctored documents are a real problem, and they have become better looking. A notary who certifies a document puts the firm’s name and his own commission behind it, so the question of who actually signed the thing is not a formality.

LEO Sign gives us a further check. Where a document is going to be notarised, we can ask you to endorse it with your Singpass signature beforehand. Your endorsement ties the document to a verified identity at a recorded moment in time. Our help centre sets out how a Singpass endorsement before notarisation works in practice. When you then attend before our Notary Public, he is not looking at a signature and taking it on trust. He has an independent record that the person who holds that Singpass endorsed that document.

Where a matter calls for it, we can lock a document to a specific NRIC or FIN, so nobody else can endorse it even if they have the link.

To be clear, this supports the notarial process rather than replacing any part of it. Where you are required to appear before the Notary Public in person, or to produce originals or identification, you still will. What changes is the level of confidence on both sides before that meeting begins.

Upload it yourself, before you come in

There are two ways a document reaches us. We can send you a signing request, or you can start it yourself.

Say you need a certified true copy of your company’s directors’ resolution. Instead of emailing the document around and hoping it arrives intact, you upload it at law.com.sg/sign, endorse it with Singpass signing, and let our office know it is there. We collect it from our end. By the time you arrive for your appointment, the document is already with us and already tied to your verified identity, so the appointment is spent on the notarial act rather than on preliminaries.

The same applies to a resolution, a declaration, an authorisation, or any private document you will be asking us to certify. Certification charges are set out in our Singapore Notary Public fee guide, and the cost of certifying copies is listed under our notary public fee for a certified true copy.

Two or more signatories: Singpass signing in sequence or counterparts

Where a document needs signatures from several parties, we can set it up in one of two ways:

  • In sequence, where each party signs the same document in turn and we invite the next party once the previous signature is in. Up to five signatories.
  • In counterparts, where each party signs their own copy independently, without waiting for the others.

We will tell you which suits your document when you sign documents with Singpass. Sequence is usual where the parties are signing one instrument; counterparts suit consents and authorisations.

Is an electronic signature valid in Singapore?

For most commercial and client documents, yes. LEO Sign produces a Singpass digital signature, so the question is whether an electronic signature is permitted for your particular document. Not everything qualifies. The Electronic Transactions Act 2010 still excludes several categories, including wills, powers of attorney, declarations of trust, negotiable instruments, and contracts and conveyances for the sale of immovable property. Those continue to need wet ink, and we will tell you plainly when a document falls into that group. If you are not sure, ask us before you sign anything, electronically or otherwise.

What we have built into Singpass signing

Signing a legal document is not the same as approving a food delivery, so the service is deliberately strict:

  • Each signing link is unique to one person and cannot be forwarded to someone else.
  • A document can be locked to a specific NRIC or FIN.
  • We can set a deadline, after which the link stops working and we tell you why.
  • If we cancel a request, the link dies immediately, though anyone who has already signed keeps access to their copy.
  • We delete documents from our system 14 days after signing. We keep the signed copy on the matter file in the ordinary way, but it does not sit on a web server.

Frequently asked questions about Singpass signing

What is LEO Sign?

LEO Sign is the digital signing service of Loh Eben Ong LLP in Singapore. Clients use it to sign and endorse documents with Singpass on law.com.sg. There is a fuller explanation of LEO Sign Singpass document signing in our help centre.

Do I need an account to sign documents with Singpass?

No. You only need the Singpass app on your phone. There is no LEO Sign account, no password and no software to install.

How long does it take to sign documents with Singpass?

About two minutes, from opening the emailed link to downloading your signed copy.

Is an electronic signature valid in Singapore?

For most commercial and client documents, yes. The Electronic Transactions Act 2010 still excludes several categories, including wills, powers of attorney, declarations of trust, negotiable instruments, and contracts and conveyances for the sale of immovable property. Ask us first if you are unsure.

Does LEO Sign replace attending before the Notary Public?

No. It supports the notarial process rather than replacing any part of it. Where you must appear in person, or produce originals or identification, you still will.

Can more than one person sign the same document?

Yes. You can sign in sequence, for up to five signatories, or in counterparts, where each party signs their own copy independently.

How long are documents kept?

We delete documents from the signing system 14 days after signing. We keep the signed copy on the matter file in the ordinary way.

Is there a charge?

There is no charge to clients for signing.

What does it cost to notarise a document I signed with Singpass?

Signing with Singpass is free. The notarial fee depends on the act you need, and the current schedule is in our Singapore Notary Public fee guide. If you need copies certified, see our notary public fee for a certified true copy.

Why endorse a document with Singpass before notarisation?

It ties the document to a verified identity before you attend our office, so our Notary Public has an independent record of who signed rather than taking a signature on trust. Our help centre explains Singpass endorsement before notarisation in more detail.

Where can I read more about LEO Sign?

Our help centre article on LEO Sign Singpass document signing covers the steps, the limits and what happens to your document afterwards.

Related pages and help centre articles