How to Sign on Behalf of Someone Else (p.p. and More)

To sign a document on behalf of someone else, you sign with your own name and signature and make clear who you are signing for. On a letter, that usually means writing "p.p." (per procurationem) before your signature and the other person's name; on a form or contract, a common format is "Jane Smith, by John Doe, authorised signatory" or "as attorney-in-fact". You should never copy or imitate the other person's signature, and you need their permission, ideally in writing, before you sign anything for them.

This guide covers the everyday cases: signing a letter for your manager, signing a form for a family member, and signing as a company representative. It also explains when signing for someone is not enough and a formal power of attorney is needed. This is general information, not legal advice; the rules vary by country and by document type.

The golden rule: your signature, their name

Signing on behalf of someone is about authority, not imitation. The person reading the document must be able to see two things:

• Who is bound by the document (the person or company you are signing for).
• Who actually signed it (you).

If you reproduce the other person's signature, even with their full blessing, the document no longer shows who signed it. That can cause problems later if anyone questions the document, and in some situations it can look like forgery. Using your own signature with a clear "on behalf of" note keeps everything transparent.

Common formats for signing on behalf of someone

Situation	Typical format	Notes
Letter or email for a manager or colleague	"p.p." + your signature, above the other person's typed name	Common in UK and Commonwealth business letters
Signing "for" someone informally	Your signature, then "for Jane Smith"	Clear and widely understood in everyday paperwork
Company representative	Your signature, your name, your job title, "for and on behalf of [Company Ltd]"	Only if you are authorised to sign for the company
Under a power of attorney	"Jane Smith, by John Doe, attorney-in-fact" (wording varies by jurisdiction)	Check the exact wording the receiving organisation expects
Parent or guardian for a minor	Your own signature in the parent/guardian field, often with your relationship noted	Most forms provide a dedicated guardian field

A note on "p.p.": strictly, it goes before the name of the person you are signing for, but in practice many people place it before their own signature. What matters most is that the reader can tell the letter was signed by someone else on the sender's authority.

Get permission first, and keep it

Before signing anything for another person, make sure you are actually allowed to. For routine letters, a clear instruction from your manager is usually enough. For anything with money, obligations or legal consequences, get the permission in writing. An email or message saying "please sign the supplier agreement on my behalf" is far easier to rely on later than a verbal "go ahead".

Keep that permission with your copy of the signed document. If someone later asks who signed and why, you have the answer in one place.

When "signing for someone" is not enough

Electronic and handwritten signatures made this way are fine for most everyday agreements and correspondence. Some documents, however, require more than a colleague or family member adding their name:

• Property transfers and deeds often need the owner's own signature or a registered power of attorney, plus witnesses or a notary.
• Wills must be signed by the person making them, with witnesses, under strict rules. Nobody can sign a will "on behalf of" the testator in the ordinary way.
• Bank and financial accounts usually only accept signatures from account holders or registered attorneys.
• Some government and court documents need the person's own signature, or a qualified electronic signature backed by a certificate.

If you are unsure whether a document can be signed by a representative, ask the organisation that will receive it. They will tell you what they accept, and that answer matters more than any general rule.

How to sign on behalf of someone with Docsigns

If the document is a PDF, DOC or DOCX file, you can do the whole thing in Docsigns without printing:

1. Upload the document. Open Docsigns and choose the file. A PDF is signed in your browser. A Word file (DOC or DOCX) is first converted to PDF on a server, so keep that in mind for sensitive documents.
2. Create your own signature. Draw it with a finger or mouse, type your name in one of the cursive fonts, or upload an image of your handwritten signature. Use your signature, not the other person's.
3. Place it on the signature line. Drag and resize it to fit.
4. Add the "on behalf of" wording. Docsigns places signatures and dates, not free text, so the simplest approach is to type the wording into the document before you sign it. In Word, add a line such as "p.p. Jane Smith" or "for and on behalf of Acme Ltd" under the signature line, then upload the file. If you only have a PDF and cannot edit it, the typed-signature option can carry a short line like "for Jane Smith" as a second element next to your signature.
5. Add the date beside your signature in the format the document uses.
6. Download the signed PDF and send it back, together with any written authority the recipient asked for.

The full flow is explained on the how it works page. Docsigns is free, needs no account and adds no watermark.

What Docsigns does and does not do here

Being clear about limits helps you choose the right tool for the document in front of you:

• It creates an electronic signature, which is accepted for most everyday agreements. It is not a qualified digital signature backed by a certificate, so it is not the right tool where a document legally requires one.
• It does not record a power of attorney, verify identity or keep an audit trail of who signed. Your written permission is the record of your authority, so keep it.
• It does not send signing requests to other people. If the other person can sign themselves, the simplest option is often to send them the file to sign directly.

Signing for a family member

Family situations are where people most often sign for someone else: a parent filling in forms for an elderly relative, or one partner signing a delivery note or a school form for the household. A few practical points:

• For low-stakes paperwork such as a delivery receipt, signing your own name and adding "for [name]" is usually fine.
• For a child's school or activity form, sign in the parent or guardian field with your own signature. That is not signing "on behalf of" the child; you are signing as the responsible adult.
• For an adult relative's finances, healthcare decisions or contracts, organisations normally need to see a power of attorney or similar arrangement. Signing their name without one, however well meant, can be refused or cause legal problems.

Quick checklist

1. Do you have permission, preferably in writing?
2. Can this type of document be signed by a representative at all?
3. Are you using your own signature, not an imitation of theirs?
4. Does the document clearly say whom you are signing for and in what capacity?
5. Have you dated it and kept a copy alongside your authority?

For more on signing everyday documents online, browse the Docsigns blog.