Which date goes next to your signature?
The date beside your signature is the day you actually sign: today. Not the start date, not the date printed on the letter, not the day the other side signed. Here's why, how to handle the awkward cases, and what to do when a document asks for several dates.
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Three dates, three different jobs
Many documents carry more than one date. Only one of them is yours to write next to your signature.
1
Signing date
The day you put your signature on the page. You write it, and it has to be true.
2
Effective or start date
When the agreement begins to apply. It sits in the text, and the parties agree on it.
3
Document date
The date the letter or contract was drafted, printed at the top. Leave it as it is.
Updated 28 September 2026 · Written by Joe Farwick, who runs this site
The signing date is a fact, not a choice
Everything else on a contract is negotiated, but the date next to a signature simply records when that person signed. Contract drafter Ken Adams points out the catch: whoever signs has complete discretion over the date they write, and if they write the wrong one, or sign and then hold on to the page for days, the contract can end up dated differently from what really happened. He admits he doesn't know how often that happens, and names the simplest fix: an e-signature service that fills the date in automatically. Without one, the date you type or write has to be the real one.
When two parties sign on different days, each writes their own date. The contract doesn't need matching dates; it needs accurate ones. If the text says the agreement takes effect when the last party signs, the later of the two dates is the one that matters.
After midnight, and in another time zone
Use the calendar date where you are at the moment you sign. If you sign at half past midnight on 1 March, the date is 1 March, even if you started reading the document on 28 February. Travelling doesn't change this: the local date where you sign is the one you write.
E-signature platforms handle this for you. DocuSign's Date Signed field, for example, is filled in automatically with the date of signing and can't be edited by the person signing. When you date a PDF yourself, take the date from your own calendar, not from the email the document came in.
Tax forms: sign and date on the day
Official forms usually spell out the date requirement. The IRS instructions for Form 1040 tell you to be sure to date your return, and they state that a return isn't considered valid unless it's signed as the instructions require. They also say that a paper return needs a handwritten signature; digital, electronic or typed-font signatures aren't valid on a 1040 filed on paper. For those, print, sign and date by hand; e-filed returns are signed with a PIN instead.
If you forgot the date
If you signed but left the date blank and the document hasn't gone out yet, add the date on which you actually signed, even if that was yesterday. If it has already been sent, tell the other side rather than sending a quietly altered copy.
Contracts sometimes plan for missing dates. One clause Adams suggests treats the day the other party receives a signature as its date if the signer didn't write one. That's a fallback, though, not a reason to leave the box empty.
Backdating, and the honest alternative
People are tempted to backdate when work started before the paperwork was finished, or when a deadline has passed. Writing an earlier date beside your signature doesn't fix either; it only makes the record untrue. In tax, regulatory and court matters, that can have serious consequences.
If an agreement should cover an earlier period, write that into the document: “This agreement applies from 1 March 2026,” or give it an effective date. The signatures still carry the days they were really made. Adams makes the same point for the contract's own date: use the real one, and describe the earlier start in the text instead of inventing a date.
Questions about the signing date
Do both parties need the same date?+
No. Each person dates their own signature on the day they sign. Different dates are normal and simply show the order of signing.
The letter is dated last week. Should my signature match?+
No. The date at the top is when the letter was written. Beside your signature, write the day you sign it.
Can I date my signature for the day the job starts?+
No. Write today's date by your signature. The start date belongs in the text of the agreement, where it can be as far ahead as the parties agree.
How much does it cost to date and sign a PDF here?+
You can open a PDF, sign it and add today's date without paying, to see how it looks. For the download of the signed copy you pick a monthly (€2.99) or yearly (€24.99) plan; cancelling simply stops the next renewal, and access runs until the paid period ends.
Watch out for
Backdating
An earlier date beside your signature claims you signed on a day you didn't. If terms should cover an earlier period, say so in the text.
Future dates
A signature dated next week is a signature from the future. Sign on the day, or wait and sign then.
Blank date boxes
Forms come back when the date is missing, and you lose the simplest record of when you signed.
Dating for someone else
Never fill in another signer's date in advance. Leave their box empty for them.
Sign with today's date
Open the document in the editor above, sign it and add the date you're signing.
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