Proper way to write a date on a legal document

Legalities are important to follow with any document you want to stand up in court. You should write all contracts, even lighthearted ones or those between friends, in a manner that makes them binding. The date on legal documents is very important, and you need to write it properly so there isn't any chance that the document won't survive legal scrutiny.

Write the date properly and correctly on a legal document for several reasons. Documents are intended to show intent, information or contracts, and therefore the date on which these things take place is extremely important. A wrong or incorrectly placed date on a contract of sale, for instance, could void the transaction.

Write the date in several different ways so that it is absolutely clear and there is no question about the intent. Write the date several times in your document, especially if the date is particularly germane to document, such as a lease or transfers of sale documents. The date should appear on the header, with the month, day and year style, and also in the body of the contract.

Shelley Loverign, a court clerk in Aberdeen, South Dakota, says that in order to get rid of any confusion regarding dates, you should first write the date in numbers, such as February 21st, 2009, and then in words, such as February twenty-first, two thousand and nine. This will make the date clearly stated on the document.

Include a place for those signing the document to state the date. Loverign suggests that each signer also write the date. The date should be typed under the line where the contract is signed, so that it appears both in type and in ink above it.