Looking ahead: our digital signature predictions for 2026

Last month, we looked back at the highlights of a big year for Videosign and a transformative year in the world of digital signatures.

Now that 2026 is underway, organisations across the UK are looking ahead, asking how regulation, technology and customer expectations will continue to shape the way agreements are signed.

From public sector adoption and digital identity to fraud prevention and compliance requirements, here are our predictions for what the next 12 months have in store.

Wider public-sector adoption of digital signatures in the UK

In 2025, the UK Land Registry began accepting Qualified Electronic Signatures for certain residential and commercial property transactions in England and Wales. This marked an important milestone in the wider adoption of digital signatures across UK public sector services.

As government departments continue to modernise their digital services, electronic signatures and secure digital identity verification are likely to become increasingly embedded in everyday interactions.

Digital signing is expected to become more routine for activities such as right-to-work checks, DBS processes and HMRC interactions. Moving away from paper-based workflows not only improves efficiency but also strengthens auditability and trust in online transactions.

More use of Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) in high-value transactions

Acceptance of Qualified Electronic Signatures by bodies such as HM Land Registry, alongside growing regulatory clarity, will see increased use in sectors with strict formality requirements, including property, corporate deeds and regulated finance.

Adoption is likely to be incremental rather than immediate, with organisations continuing to use a mix of electronic signature types based on risk and regulatory needs. As AI-driven identity fraud continues to rise, secure digital identity verification will become increasingly important when large sums are being transferred online.

Criminals will seek to exploit slow adopters of electronic signature

The rapid evolution of AI technology means criminals are increasingly equipped to carry out identity fraud using techniques such as deepfake video and voice cloning. Organisations that adopt secure electronic signatures, supported by robust digital identity verification and liveness detection, will be far better placed to protect themselves and their customers.

As online transactions continue to grow, criminals are likely to target organisations that are slower to implement strong security measures, exploiting weaker or outdated signing and verification processes.

Surge in identity-first signing (wallets + verifiable credentials)

The use of identity-first signing, including “sign with your identity wallet” workflows powered by verifiable credentials, is expected to grow in sectors where strong non-repudiation and user control are critical. This includes areas such as banking, healthcare and public services.

We expect to see a continued shift away from document-only electronic signatures towards identity-anchored signing, where trust is increasingly tied to verified digital identity rather than the document alone.

Navigating divergent digital signature requirements

The introduction of the EU Digital Identity Wallet is expected to make cross-border digital identity wallets and qualified electronic signatures more commonplace across the EU. For organisations operating across EU and UK markets, this will add complexity to already evolving digital signature requirements.

In response, many businesses are likely to take a pragmatic approach in 2026, adopting flexible, multi-signature or multi-wallet strategies to ensure compliance across different jurisdictions while maintaining efficient signing workflows.

Legal practice and conveyancing will increasingly move to a hybrid approach

Solicitors and conveyancers are expected to continue moving towards hybrid signing processes, using electronic signatures for most stages of a transaction and reserving wet-ink signatures only where they are strictly required.

This approach will help speed up legal and conveyancing workflows, particularly for commercial contracting, while maintaining compliance with existing regulatory and formal execution requirements.

Customers will increasingly expect digital signatures and enhanced security

By 2026, many customers will expect the option to sign documents using secure digital signatures as standard, particularly when transactions are carried out online. Alongside convenience, expectations around security, verification and trust will continue to rise.

Whether you are introducing electronic signatures for the first time or looking to enhance your existing signing experience, Videosign supports organisations with a flexible, end-to-end contracting workflow designed to balance efficiency, compliance and customer confidence. Arrange a demo and explore how our platform can support your needs.