So, what does “Its” and “By” mean on a contract’s signature line?
What does By and Its mean on signature lines?
What’s essential to know?
Keep reading as we have gathered exactly the information that you need!
Let me explain to you what By & Its mean once and for all!
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Let’s get started!
What Does “Its” And “By” Mean On Contract’s Signature Line?
A contract can be either signed by an individual for himself or herself, or by a business entity.
When a contract is signed by a person on behalf of a business entity, you will likely see the words “its” and “by” show up making it a bit confusing.
A contract signature line for business entities is typically composed of a few elements including the name of the person signing, the name of the business entity on behalf of which the person is signing, the person’s title, the date, and the actual signature.
For a company, the typical signature block looks as follows:
COMPANY NAME
______________________________
By: __________
Title: __________
Date: __________
Sometimes, the signature block will appear with the word “its” instead of “title”, as follows:
COMPANY NAME
______________________________
By: __________
Its: __________
Date: __________
Now, let’s break this down to better understand what the by and its represent in the signature line.
Related article:
“By” Meaning
By in a signature line refers to the signatory’s name.
For example:
COMPANY NAME
_________________________
By: John Smith
As you can see, by is now referring to the person’s name (in this example “John Smith”).
Related article:
“Its” Meaning
Its in a signature line refers to the person’s title within the company that is signing the contract.
For example:
COMPANY NAME
_________________________
By: John Smith
Its: Chief Executive Officer
As you can see, in this case, the term its is being used to refer to the person’s title.
The reason why you want to have the person’s title in the signature line is to give evidence that this person has sufficient authority to sign on behalf of the company.
So if there’s a blank space in a signature line for “its”, you should put the person’s title within the company.
Takeaways
So there you have it folks!
In a nutshell, if you have a “By:” (blank) and “It’s:” (blank), you should put the person’s name next to the “By:” and the person’s title or position next to the “It’s:”.
For example:
COMPANY ABC
_______________________
By: Jane Doe
Its: President
“Its” should be used when you’re signing on behalf of a company, and you need to indicate your title (consider it to mean “title”).
“By” should be used when you’re signing on behalf of a company and it is where you put the person’s name.
Now that you can make the distinction between “by” & “its”, good luck in with the signing of your contract!
