How to sign a purchase agreement online
A purchase agreement is the promise to buy and sell: what changes hands, for how much, and what has to happen before it does. Whether it's a used excavator, a pallet of inventory or a whole small business, both sides can usually sign it online in an afternoon instead of meeting to sign paper. Buying or selling a house? That has its own rules; see e-signing a real estate purchase contract.
Updated November 9, 2026 · 4 min read
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Purchase agreement or bill of sale?
They're often confused. The purchase agreement comes first and sets the deal: price, deposit, delivery or closing date, inspection, conditions. The bill of sale comes at the end and records that ownership actually moved. A quick private sale might only need a bill of sale; anything with a deposit, a delivery date or conditions deserves a purchase agreement too. Here's how to sign a bill of sale online.
Can you sign it electronically?
Generally, yes. The federal ESIGN Act says a contract can't be denied legal effect just because it's electronic. ESIGN sets aside most of the Uniform Commercial Code, but it expressly keeps Articles 2 and 2A, the parts covering sales and leases of goods, so ordinary sales of goods fall under it. Two things still need care: titled property such as vehicles and boats, where the title follows your state's DMV rules, and any document a lender, landlord or state agency insists on receiving in ink or notarized. SignMaster doesn't notarize.
Check these before anyone signs
- Who's buying and selling. Full legal names. If a company is a party, its exact registered name, and the name and title of the person signing for it.
- What's being sold. Make, model and serial numbers for equipment; a schedule listing assets for a business sale, and what's excluded, such as cash or certain contracts.
- Price and how it's paid. The deposit, when the balance is due, and what happens to the deposit if the deal falls through.
- Delivery or closing. The date, the place, who arranges transport, and when risk of loss passes to the buyer.
- Conditions. Inspection, financing or due diligence, each with a deadline. A condition with no date is an argument waiting to happen.
- Condition and warranties. As-is, or specific promises about condition. For a business, the seller's statements about debts, leases and employees.
Send it for signature in SignMaster
- 1
Start from your agreement or ours
Upload your purchase agreement as a PDF, or start from the sales agreement template in the library for goods. For a business, attach the asset list and any disclosure schedules as extra documents in the same envelope.
- 2
Add both sides as signers
Add the buyer and the seller by name and email. If the seller countersigns last, set the order: buyer first, seller second. For a company, add the person authorized to sign.
- 3
Place fields where people decide something
Signature and date signed for each party, initials on each page of a long agreement, and a Currency field if the buyer fills in an offer price. Type terms you've already agreed straight onto the page so they can't be changed.
- 4
Set a deadline
In Message & settings, a sign-by date nudges a slow party with reminders. If an offer should lapse, set the link to expire on the offer's last day.
- 5
Send, or sign together
Each party gets a link and signs on their own phone or computer without an account. Meeting in person to inspect the equipment? Use Sign in person and hand them your phone.
When both sides have signed, each gets the same PDF with a certificate of completion showing who signed, when and from which IP address. Keep it with the payment records; when the item changes hands, sign the bill of sale the same way.
Buying a business: sign in stages
Business sales usually start with a letter of intent that sets price and structure and says which terms bind. The purchase agreement follows after due diligence, then closing documents. Each stage can be its own envelope, so you have a clean signed record of each step. Have a lawyer review the purchase agreement itself; it's the document that decides what you're buying.
Questions? Answers.
Is an e-signed purchase agreement legally binding?
Generally, yes. ESIGN and state UETA laws give electronic signatures the same effect as ink for contracts like this, including sales of goods. What makes it binding is the deal itself: the parties, what's sold, the price and both signatures.
Does a purchase agreement need to be notarized?
Usually not. Some states or lenders want notarized documents for titled property, real estate or certain filings. Check before you sign, because SignMaster doesn't provide notarization.
Can the buyer and seller sign at different times?
Yes. Each signs from their own link whenever they're ready, in the order you set, and the agreement is complete when the last signature lands.
What if the buyer wants to change a term before signing?
They can decline or use Request changes on the signing page to say what they want. Agree the change, update the document and send a fresh envelope, so the signed version is the agreed one.