Electronic signatures in real estate documents in Denmark

Generally, any commercial real estate document may be signed using an electronic signature and take legal effect, unless the parties of the document have agreed not to use electronic signatures. This includes;

  • Sale and purchase agreements
  • Lease agreements
  • Non-disclosure agreements
  • Exclusivity agreements
  • Letters of intent
  • Sider letters

Powers of attorney to be registered with the Danish Land Registry may not be signed using an electronic signature, as the Danish Land Registry requires wet ink signatures, unless the power of attorney is signed by using NemID. NemID is a Danish common secure login on the Internet.

Except powers of attorney, all other registrations with the Danish Land Registry may be signed using an electronic signature.

There are no legal requirements for an electronic signature of a document.

4. Are there any proposals to change the law relating to electronic signatures? 

No.

5. Are there any other factors which prevent documents being entered into in electronic format?

Possibly, if:

  • the parties of the agreement have agreed to sign the documents using wet ink.
  • the executing company’s corporate documents hold provisions which restricts or prevents it from signing electronically. While not common in corporate documents, this may exist and should be checked.
  • the document must be treated as executed in a jurisdiction outside of Denmark. If the place of signature or jurisdiction has particular legal consequences, it may be better to have a physical signing.