Your conveyancer sends a 40-page contract and asks you to initial every page. Pen-and-paper would take an hour. Electronically, it's a minute.
Why initials still appear in contracts
Initialling every page is a defence against post-execution insertion — someone slipping in a new page after the fact. With digital documents, the cryptographic hash of a signed PDF achieves the same thing technically. Initials remain because many lawyers prefer the visual record and some clients expect it.
If the counterparty's drafting calls for initials, deliver initials. Don't argue procedure when the substance is what matters.
Adding initials in Flint
Open the PDF in Flint's signing tool. Use the 'Initials' field type — distinct from full signature. Type your initials once; Flint will place them as small marks where you drop them.
For a 40-page contract: place an initials field on each page in one pass, then submit. The initials are applied across every placed field with one action.
Mixing initials, signatures and dates
Most signing flows accept a mix of field types: full signature on the execution page, initials on every other page, dates next to each. Place them all up front, then sign once and Flint distributes the inputs.
For multi-party documents, each signer's initials are separate. Don't share initials fields between signers — it confuses the audit trail.
FAQ
Are initials legally binding?
Yes, where they're used as a mark indicating assent. Most contract law treats initials the same as a signature for the page or term initialled.
Do I have to initial every page?
Only if the contract specifies it or your counterparty requests it. Many modern contracts use a single signature on the execution page.
Can I use a stamp image as initials?
Yes, but it's cleaner to use a proper initials field in an e-signing tool — that produces an audit trail and looks consistent.
Do initials need a date?
Usually no — the date goes with the main signature. Some old-style contracts ask for dated initials on each page; if so, follow the form.
Forty pages of initials in sixty seconds. Set up an initials field in Flint and move on.