Letter assigning a contract checklist

Read the Letter to make sure it meets your needs. Remember that, if you have any questions, you can Ask a lawyer for advice.

This Letter Assigning a Contract is a special type of document called a ‘deed’. Deeds must be executed (ie signed) in a certain way in order to be legally binding. In this case, the assignee and the assignor must both correctly sign the Letter. Once it is signed by both parties, the Letter becomes a binding contract.

To sign your Letter Assigning a Contract, you should:

1. Print a copy of the Letter for each party.

2. Both the assignee and the assignor should sign each copy of the Letter. Each signature must be witnessed. A witness should be: 

   1. not another party to the deed (ie not the assignee or the assignor or a representative of either)

   2. independent and unconnected with the parties (eg not a family member)

   3. over 18 years of age, and 

   4. of sound mind

3. After watching a party sign the deed, the party’s witness should sign the deed and add their name, address, and occupation directly underneath the relevant party’s signature.

It is usually possible for deeds to be signed electronically, but if this is done, extra care must be taken to ensure that all of the execution formalities for the particular type of deed are met. This deed is, therefore, designed to be signed by hand (ie wet-signed) to ensure that it is correctly executed (eg witnessed).

For more information, read Execution of deeds.

The date of the contract is the date on which the parties sign, if that is the same day. If they sign on different days, the date of the contract is the day on which the last person signs.

A Letter Assigning a Contract is a formal notice which must be served (ie sent) properly. Send your Letter to the other party to the assignment (ie the assignee) and, once it’s been signed, send a copy of it to the other party to the original contract as a notice of the assignment. 

You can usually serve a Letter Assigning a Contract in various ways, as long as you ensure the recipient receives it. Common ways to send this type of business notice include:

• by courier or post

  • use a tracked delivery service and keep a copy of the proof of posting and delivery

  • check you have the recipient’s latest address

• by email

  • you can sign the Letter online and attach a copy of it to an email to the recipient

  • request a ‘read receipt’ as proof of service

Always check the contract you are assigning for any special rules about serving notices. For example, service of notices by email may not be allowed. Make sure any such rules are followed.

Each party should keep their own original copy of the Letter which has been signed by both parties.

A copy of your Letter Assigning a Contract will also be stored automatically in your Rocket Lawyer account ‘Dashboard’.

You should also securely store:

•  any proof of service, for example: 

  • Royal Mail receipts or courier receipts

  • emails or messages from the recipient acknowledging that they’ve received the Letter

  • email ‘read receipts’

• copies of anything else (eg other documents) that were sent with the Letter