Glossary

Executed version

The executed version is the signed, frozen text that is the contract. Drafts, redlines and comments are not. In England and Wales an ordinary agreement is executed when the parties sign it with the intention to authenticate that wording, including by e-signature. A deed has extra formalities.

Last updated 28 October 2026

Signing in counterpart still produces one agreement: each signed copy is an original, together they are the deal. The danger is signing two different drafts and calling them counterparts. An entire agreement clause then has to pick a text. The redline guide at /guides/your-client-redlined-your-contract is about getting to this version, not past it.

Contracts.io exists so the executed version is the page you both already edited. Lex drafts; both sides mark; you e-sign once. We do not want a “v4_final_FINAL.docx” in two inboxes. The other side never pays and does not need an account. Download the signed file and the signing record and keep them with any later addendum.

What counts as the executed version?

The wording both parties signed, with the signatures attached to that wording. A typed name under a still-moving draft is not it. Accepting a redline is not it. Completing the signing step on a frozen text is. For a deed, execution also needs the face of the document to say it is a deed, and an individual needs a witness.

How is it different from a redline or a draft?

A draft is a proposal. A redline is a proposed edit. The executed version is the deal. You can have many drafts and one executed version. If you later vary it, the new signed text becomes the executed version of the varied contract. Keep the chain: original signed paper, then each signed addendum.

Do counterparts create more than one executed version?

They create more than one signed copy of the same text, which together are one agreement. That only works if the wording matches. Date the agreement, store both copies, and record who signed when. Scotland has a statute on counterparts; England and Wales rely on the clause and on ordinary formation rules. See counterpart.

How do we keep one executed version on Contracts.io?

Work on the share link until the wording is agreed, then both sign that frozen page. That is the executed version. Later changes are agreed and signed on the same contract, which is a variation in the form Rock Advertising requires. Do not export to Word, edit offline, and sign a different file.

A worked example

A freelancer and a client finish redlines on a shared services agreement on Tuesday. On Wednesday they both e-sign the frozen wording and download the PDF and the signing record. On Friday the client asks for an extra page. They do not reopen the signed PDF in Word. They add an addendum on the same link, both sign it, and file it next to Wednesday’s executed version.

How it shows up in a contract

Sample wording · our own drafting

This agreement is executed on the date both parties have signed it. Each party will receive the signed version and the signing record. A proposed change is not part of this agreement until both parties sign a version that includes it.

In Plain English

The contract is the text you both signed, on that date. Each of you gets that file and the record of who signed. A suggested edit is not in the deal until you both sign a version that has it in.

Common mistakes

  • Signing two different drafts and treating them as counterparts of one executed version.
  • Treating “Accept” on a redline as the signature of the contract.
  • Keeping only a screenshot of a name and losing the frozen text that was signed.
  • Varying the deal in email and leaving the executed PDF unchanged, against a no-oral-modification clause.

What the legislation says

  • In England and Wales, an electronic signature is admissible in evidence on any question about the authenticity or integrity of a communication or data.

    Source: Electronic Communications Act 2000, s.7Checked 7 October 2026Pending lawyer review

  • Where a contract contains a clause that variation must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the parties, an oral variation is not effective. The parties have bound themselves to a specified method of variation and the court gives effect to it.

    Source: Rock Advertising Ltd v MWB Business Exchange Centres Ltd, [2018] UKSC 24Checked 28 October 2026Pending lawyer review

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What is the executed version of a contract?

The signed, frozen text that is the deal. Drafts, redlines and comments are not. Keep the signed file and the signing record.

Is accepting a redline the same as executing?

No. Accepting agrees a change. Signing happens once, on one frozen version. See /glossary/redline and /glossary/e-signature.

Do counterparts mean two contracts?

No. Each signed copy of the same wording is an original; together they are one agreement. Do not sign two different drafts. See /glossary/counterpart.

How does Contracts.io keep one executed version?

Both sides edit one shared link, then e-sign that frozen page. Later changes are signed on the same contract as a variation, not emailed as a new Word file.

Related

The legal wording governsLast reviewed 28 October 2026Pending lawyer review