News Bulletin - January 19, 2015

Important Information for Industry Members on the Use of Electronic Signatures

Social media pages and blogs only require the industry member’s name and photo to be compliant with the Commission

Important Information for Industry Members on the Use of Electronic Signatures

Software to secure an electronic signature may be used on any service contracts or purchase agreements, however, the Commission does not promote, prefer or otherwise Important Information for Industry Members on the Use of Electronic Signaturesendorse a particular brand of electronic signature software. The broker is directly responsible to verify that any electronic signature service used to produce signatures on agreements, in the eyes of the law, creates legally binding service agreements and legally binding agreements of purchase and sale for real estate. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary action. The Commission recommends that brokers seek independent legal advice as part of this verification process.

If the brokerage chooses to make an electronic signature service available to their clients, the brokerage must retain printed copies of all signed agreements and acknowledgments (i.e. Certificate of Authenticity) which includes the e-signature of a client or customer of the brokerage. It is not necessary for the brokerage to retain certificates from cooperating brokerages provided it is agreed that it represents a legal signature. These documents must be retained in the brokerage transaction file as per the Commission’s document retention requirements in Bylaw 621, 707 and the Electronic Document Storage Policy.

See the Commission’s Bylaw here for reference.

For further information on electronic signatures, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Mythbuster of the Month: Social media pages and blogs only require the industry member’s name and photo to be compliant with the Commission

All industry members’ social media pages (including, but is not limited to, Facebook pages and profiles on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest) and blogs used as advertising must prominently display the full industry member name and full brokerage name (which must be the same size or larger than the industry member’s name or team name, if applicable) in order to be compliant with the Act and Bylaw.

Failing to do so may result in disciplinary action.