In a nutshell: The Marshall Islands' corporate and maritime registries accept electronic signatures for document filings. This streamlines regulatory compliance, reduces administrative burdens and enhances the overall efficiency of filing processes.

Corporate filings

The Digital Signature Regulations ("DSR") which was promulgated early last year provides clarification relating to execution of any corporate instruments required to be filed with the corporate registry. The Association Law of the Republic of the Marshall Islands allows any such corporate instrument to be signed using "an electronically transmitted signature". This would include a digital signature, which the DSR defines as a signature that is attached to a document by a person with the intent to sign the document where the signature is generated by software using a digital certificate issued by a trust service provider, namely a certificate authority issuing digital certificates for signers of digitally signed documents and instruments, or similar authority.

In practice this means that companies may file with the corporate registry documents such as corporation's articles of amendment, articles of dissolution, LLC's certificate of formation, registration as a foreign maritime entity or declarations of incumbency, which have been signed electronically using platforms such as DocuSign, Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

Maritime instruments

Due to the amendment of the Maritime Act of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in early 2023, the maritime registry accepts any maritime instrument which is submitted for filing, registration or recordation and signed using electronic or digital signatures already for quite some time. This amendment also made clear that an electronic copy of such instrument is accepted in place of original copy.

An "electronic signature" and a "digital signature" are given different definitions under the Marshall Islands Maritime Regulations. While a "digital signature" is similarly defined as in the DSR, under the Marshall Islands Maritime Regulations an "electronic signature" means a legible scan or facsimile of a handwritten signature or an image of such handwritten signature.

In practice any mortgage or finance charter or its discharge or amendment, bill of sale or any ship registration form which has been signed electronically using platforms such as DocuSign, Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is also accepted by the ships registry of the Marshall Islands for registration or recordation purposes.

Requirements for acknowledgment not exempted

Most documents and instruments referred to above (e.g. articles of amendment or articles of dissolutions, mortgage or finance charter or its discharge) are required to be notarised or acknowledged by a Marshall Islands Special Agent for filing or registration purposes. The fact that the registries accept documents signed using electronic signatures does not exempt such notarisation or acknowledgment requirements, which may also be satisfied using electronic means or processes as approved by the registries.

For further questions, please do not hesitate to contact either Dr. Klaus Dimigen or Dr. Stefan Rindfleisch, both registered lawyers admitted to practice in the Marshall Islands.