Are official documents always signed in black ink?

[View from the Loft]

Unless the letter/document says otherwise, any sober (black, blue or blue-black) will be just fine. Congratulations, and carry on using your pen(s).

[churl]

I think the lesson of this thread is that there are certain instances and organizations that specifically require a certain ink color, so pay attention.

[Ondina]

I have to sign a job offer letter and am wondering whether the custom is to sign in black ink. I heard this somewhere, but Google didn't yield much on this. I'm asking because my fountain pen is currently filled with blue-black ink, and I'd rather not change it if possible.

 

Thanks!

 

In this job market I'd sign it with the first thing I could find that wouldn't wipe off with the brush of a finger or a pencil eraser and get it back to you future employer ASAP. Heck, if I couldn't find anything else, I might sign in grape juice or my own blood.

 

As far as I know, in the USA there is absolutely no legal requirement for any particular ink color. I'd bet that a will signed with a hot pink Sharpie would be as valid as any other, as long as there was no one challenging the validity by saying the signature was forged, etc.

 

Certain agencies/offices may have their own requirements, but those are their own and have no bearing on what you sign other documents with.

 

Sign it in blue, blue-black, or black. Unless you use a near-florescent blue like Noodler's Baystate Blue, no one will think a second though other than that your signature is on the paper.

 

And heaven forbid, DO NOT ASK anyone at your future employer what color to use. That would be a great way to make your future boss think he'd just hired an indecisive and anal retentive employee.

 

I agree. Use what you think is right; if you're not, be sure you will be told so.

 

I think the lesson of this thread is that there are certain instances and organizations that specifically require a certain ink color, so pay attention.

 

I agree, also. Keeping eyes open is a must. Keeping an open mind should be as well. Use that BB.

[Ron Z]

Back in the day when we had to file applications and forms with the FCC in paper, you were supposed to use blue ink to sign the original, and then submit 3 duplicate copies with that original. All authorizations and licenses from the FCC were signed in blue ink.

 

I signed one application with Penman black, which was really black, and got chewed out by our FCC attorney for doing so. The FCC wanted it to be clear which was the original.

 

I keep that in mind when signing any legal document today.

[pinaki]

Iron based blue-black inks , like the Diamine registrar's has been customary for legal uses since way back . Now so few people even

write , much less use fountain pens , I guess they couldn't care less . I regularly sign cheques and forms at my bank with the

watercoloury quink washable-blue just cause the teller lady absolutely hates it as it fades like hell . Why can't you use

a dot-pen ( tht's the ball point ) , she scowls at me , everytime , like clockwork . Btw , she's kinda pretty .

-Pinaki

[OnTheBayou]

One office I contract with requires blue ink to distinguish original signatures from photocopies.

[OnTheBayou]

Sorry. Seem to have lots of DPs today.

Edited February 18, 2010 by OnTheBayou

[jinosbrovens]

Well I think that when signing official documents always use black ink.While blue ink has been authorised in the past.Many agencies will fight you every step of the way should you try to actually use it.I have also heard that some states don't recognise the validity of a signature on legal documents if it's red, what about other colours, like purple or green?

[snepmd]

IME if ink color is critical on a given document you'll be told which color is required -- "please sign in blue ink" or whatever. I had to sign some documents for my father's estate recently, and the cover letter from the attorney instructed me to sign in blue ink. Otherwise use your judgement.

Personally I think blue-black would be fine. Unless the recipient is a FP person, or unless you use something out of the ordinary, I doubt they would notice or care about the ink color. Of couse if you signed it in Parker Penman Ruby (which looks a lot like dried blood) you might raise a few eyebrows!

[tanalasta]

I think they have sent you a job offer, as long as you sign it in an acceptable colour, you could use anything! Congratulations on the new job (I'm assuming you're accepting the offer).

 

Suggest using a water resistant or waterproof ink. Most blue inks are NOT very water resistant. So bear that in mind when picking an ink colour. I'd probably choose a ballpoint pen to sign a job offer rather a non-waterproof fountain pen ink or one that fades easily.

[snepmd]

A bank teller once told me that checks absolutely, positively had to be written in blue or black. Now, the checks in brown, or green, or even red were deposited just a quickly (or slowly - depending whether they were payable to me or someone else).

 

I used to manage a checking account department. There is no such legal requirement for ink color, at least not in the US. Unless that particular bank had that requirement as its policy (I can't imagine them doing so), the teller was misinformed.

We used to see some truly bizarre colors!

[Dr Cardinal]

I'm a physician and the only document I have been required by the great state of Missouri to use black ink on is a death certificate. I suppose that South Seas Blue and Mediterranean Blue might be too festive for that document! My banker likes blue so she can tell my original signature apart from a photocopy.

[Artful Lounger]

Blue, black and blue-black are perfectly acceptable colours for formal documentation. I've been using blue-black ink myself to sign off on invoices and the such (Noodler's Legal Lapis) though my personal staple ink has always been black. I use Noodler's bulletproof ink for its properties.

[Doc H]

Well, if you count the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence as "official documents," they were likely signed with iron gall ink (as were most "official documents" from the 12th century on until recently), which has a purplish/blue-black cast when fresh, fading to red/brown with oxidation. Philip Syng's inkwell was definitely filled with iron gall ink when the 56 signers of our American document affixed their names....

[bluemagister]

My state and university both prefer blue, so I usually have a gel pen for signing. If I have an FP handy, it's either Seiboku, Noodler's Blue Black or Bad Belted Kingfisher. If I want to sign in black (non-state or university), then it's Noodler's HoD or Bulletproof Black.

[pmsalty]

Simple answer; no.

PMS

[martinjony]

Demanding institution could have a name,but if I had to sign my trust or will contain 3 shades of pink it would still be valid. I signed checks and documents next to the felt tip marker green and never had a problem.

[lws]

Always sign in blue so that the original can be distinguished from the photocopy.

 

My brother recently had a Career Episode Report rejected because he signed it in Noodler's Black, and Engineers Australia thought it had been photocopied or photoshopped onto the document. Personally, I dodge this bullet by always using Legal Lapis, which is a very distinctive dark blue/teal.

 

- Lewis.

[Jimmy James]

When I bought a house with my wife, I brought my own pen for signing. I only brought one, I think -- my Blue Carbonesque Namiki Vanishing Point with broad nib. It runs on Pilot Blue. The attorney (yes, I'm an attorney who hired another attorney -- I wonder if doctors do the same) worried me because he was very particular about the ink. He said I could only use my own pen if it contained...blue ink. I breathed a sigh of relief and signed dozens of documents that put me into more debt than my law school education (but less than my whole education).

[corniche]

Greetings FPCTB,

 

I make my living as a professional resume writer/career consultant and I assure you that blue-black is the PERFECT color for such a document. Not only is it very unique in the modern world, which will help you stand out; yet it remains a consummately professional color choice. When I have a client in my office signing cover letters, I always hand him a fountain pen, (after a short tutorial), loaded with blue-black ink to sign them- it is the quintessential business color- in my not so humble opinion.

 

Best wishes,

 

Sean

Edited January 1, 2011 by S. P. Colfer