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Digital signatures on accounting documents are accepted by the CRA on a short list of forms, and the rule for each is about proof, not software. The CRA names 11 forms it takes with an electronic signature, including the T183 for e-filing a personal return and the T2200 for employment expenses. What it wants is a verified identity and a record that shows who signed and when.
What counts as a digital signature in Canada?
Two different things get called “digital signature”, and mixing them up causes most of the confusion. A typed name, a drawn squiggle or a tick box is an electronic signature. A digital signature in the strict sense is built with cryptography.
The federal Secure Electronic Signature Regulations describe the strict version. It applies a hash function to the data to make a message digest, encrypts that digest with a private key, attaches it to the document, and sends both together. The point is that anyone can later check whether the document changed after signing. The regulations were made under PIPEDA and the Canada Evidence Act to set evidentiary presumptions, and the version we read was last amended in 2011.
Provincial law on contracts is a separate matter, and we did not check it. So this page sticks to what the CRA and the federal regulations say.
Which tax forms accept an e-signature?
The CRA page on using electronic signatures lists the forms. The ones most people meet are below.
| Form | Used for |
|---|---|
| T183 | Authorizing a preparer to e-file an individual return |
| T183CORP | Authorizing e-filing of a corporation return |
| T183TRUST | Authorizing e-filing of a trust return |
| T2200 | Employer’s declaration of conditions of employment |
| CPT30 | Election to stop or resume CPP contributions |
The full list has 11 forms. Check the CRA page before you assume a form not shown here can be signed on a tablet.
How do you sign so the CRA accepts it?
There are two routes. In person, the signature is applied while the other party is present, for instance with a stylus or a finger on a tablet. Remotely, it goes through a verified email address or a secured, access-controlled online location.
Either way the CRA expects the party receiving the signed form to have checked the signer’s identity first.
In order for the CRA to accept the use of electronic signatures between third parties for these forms, it is expected that identity verification has been performed by the party receiving the signed form.
Using electronic signatures, Canada.ca, canada.ca
That’s the part people skip, usually because the link went out by email, someone clicked it from a shared computer, and nobody thought to ask who was actually at the keyboard. A signature on a link sent to an unverified address doesn’t meet the test.
Many signing services produce a certificate of completion. The CRA says filers should keep it, especially when the signed form doesn’t show a time stamp. If you’re the taxpayer, ask your preparer for a copy. If you’re the preparer, file it beside the return.
One small privacy point: the CRA highly recommends masking the first five digits of a Social Insurance Number on printed or generated forms.
What does a clean signing look like?
Say Marcus in Winnipeg gets a T2200 from his employer’s payroll clerk. She emails a signing link to the address on file for the HR manager, who is the person who has to sign. The service sends that manager a code, he enters it, signs on his phone, and the system stamps the date and time. Marcus gets the signed form plus the certificate of completion, and saves both in the same folder as his tax slips. Five minutes, and nobody had to print anything.
Now the sloppy version: the clerk signs “for” the manager because he’s travelling. Same form, same software, and the identity rule is broken.
How long do signed documents stay on file?
Treat a signed authorization as part of your records. The CRA’s general rule is six years from the end of the last tax year the records relate to. So take a T183 signed on 1 March 2026 for the 2025 return. The tax year ended on 31 December 2025, so the six years run to 31 December 2031 under that general rule.
Documents on property or the share registry are different, and the CRA says to keep those without an end date. If you want to destroy records early, the CRA wants a written request on Form T137 first.
Keep the signed file in a readable electronic form. A signing service that shuts your account after a subscription lapses is a bad place to be the only copy, so download your signed files and certificates before you cancel anything.
Signing documents that feed your numbers
A signed form is only as good as the figures on it. Before an employee signs off on a T2200 or you approve a return, run the numbers yourself. The income tax calculator shows your federal and provincial tax on a given income, and the tax refund calculator shows what the return might pay back or cost. If you’re a business owner signing a payroll authorization, check net pay with the take-home pay calculator first.
Mistakes that cost you
Signing for someone else is the first mistake. A spouse or a bookkeeper who clicks “sign” on your behalf breaks the identity rule, even with good intentions.
The second is thinking a scanned image of a signature is enough on every form. It isn’t. The CRA lists what it takes, and a pasted image with no verification and no time stamp is thin proof.
Third, forgetting that the document may change. A cryptographic signature makes edits visible, and a plain typed name doesn’t. If the amount matters, choose a tool that locks the file after signing.
What did we not confirm? We couldn’t find a CRA list of approved signing products, and we make no claim about any vendor.
Where this information comes from
The form list and signing conditions come from the CRA page on using electronic signatures. The six-year rule comes from CRA guidance on keeping records. The signature definition comes from the Secure Electronic Signature Regulations (SOR/2005-30) on the Justice Laws website. We read these in September 2026. This is an independent guide, separate from any government body.
Frequently asked questions
Does the CRA accept electronic signatures?
Yes, on 11 named forms, including the T183, T183CORP, T183TRUST, T2200 and CPT30, under set conditions.
What must happen before the CRA accepts the signature?
The party receiving the signed form must have verified the signer's identity.
What is a certificate of completion?
A record from a signing service that shows who signed and when. The CRA says filers should keep it, mainly when the form shows no time stamp.
How long do I keep a signed form?
The CRA's general rule is six years from the end of the last tax year the record relates to.
What is a secure electronic signature in federal law?
A digital signature made with a hash function and a private key, attached to the document so later changes can be detected.
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