To fill out “dated this ____ day of ____,” write the day of the month as an ordinal number, then the full name of the month, then the four-digit year. A completed line reads: “Dated this 15th day of June, 2026.” The date you enter should be the day you actually sign the document, because that line records the execution date — the moment the agreement becomes binding.
The Format, Piece by Piece
The first blank takes the day as an ordinal: a number showing position rather than quantity. You can write it with a numeral and suffix (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 15th, 22nd) or spell it out (first, second, third, fifteenth, twenty-second). Numerals with suffixes are more common in practice because they read faster.
The word “of” leads into the month. Spell the month in full. Write “January,” not “Jan.” and not “1.” After the month, write the full four-digit year. Put together, the line reads: “Dated this 3rd day of September, 2026.”
The reason the format looks old-fashioned is that it removes ambiguity. Shorthand like “03/04/2026” reads as March 4 in the United States and April 3 in much of the rest of the world. A spelled-out month cannot be misread, which matters when a document may cross borders or sit in a file cabinet for decades before anyone needs to interpret it.
Which Date Goes on the Line
The date you write is the day you sign. Lawyers call this the execution date, and it is not always the same as the effective date. A contract signed on March 10 might state that its terms begin on April 1. March 10 goes on the “dated this” line; April 1 lives in a separate effective-date clause inside the document.
When more than one person signs, the standard practice is to use the date the last party signs. Until every signature is on the page, there is no binding contract. If you sign on June 5 and the other party signs on June 12, the execution date is June 12. Some attorneys leave the “dated this” line blank until the final signature is collected, then fill it in.
Fixing a Mistake You Just Made
If you write the wrong date on a document you have not yet finished signing, draw a single line through the error so the original remains legible, write the correct date nearby, and have all parties initial next to the correction. A correction only one party initials can be challenged later as a unilateral alteration the other party never approved.
Do not use white-out or scribble over the original. Opaque corrections look like concealment, and some recording offices will reject documents that have them. The single-line strikethrough keeps the change transparent: anyone reviewing the document can see both the original entry and the fix.
If the document has already been signed and filed, correcting the date usually requires an amendment or a new document rather than altering the original. For recorded documents like deeds, you may need to file a corrective instrument with the same office that accepted the original.
Dates You Should Not Enter
A Blank
An undated document is not automatically invalid. Courts can look at outside evidence to figure out when a contract was executed. But proving the date after the fact is expensive and uncertain. Without a clear execution date, you invite arguments about when obligations started, when deadlines began running, and whether the statute of limitations has expired. For wills, a missing date makes it much harder to establish which version is most recent when more than one exists.
A Date Before Today (Backdating)
Backdating means writing a date earlier than the actual signing date. It is not automatically illegal. Two parties who reached agreement verbally on Monday but did not sign paperwork until Friday might date the document Monday to reflect when they shook hands on the deal.
Backdating crosses the line when it is done to deceive someone or gain an unfair advantage. Dating a document before a regulatory deadline to avoid a penalty, creating the false impression that insurance coverage was in place before a loss occurred, or backdating stock option grants to lock in a lower price are all forms of fraud. Consequences range from the document being voided to criminal prosecution.1State Bar of Wisconsin. InsideTrack: Backdating Documents: Not Necessarily the Stuff of Scandal
A Date After Today (Post-Dating)
Post-dating means entering a future date on a document you are signing today. A contract is generally binding from the moment it is signed, regardless of what date appears on the “dated this” line. Writing next week’s date does not delay when the agreement takes effect unless the contract language explicitly says so. What post-dating does accomplish is creating a discrepancy between the stated date and reality, which gives the other party grounds to argue the document is misleading.
Handwriting Nobody Can Read
If the date cannot be read, it is functionally the same as no date at all. Print clearly. If your handwriting is questionable, print the date in block letters, or type it before printing the document.
When a Notary Is Involved
A notarized document carries two dates: the one on the “dated this” line in the body, and the one the notary enters on their certificate. They do not have to match, and understanding why prevents a common source of panic.
The notary certificate must reflect the actual day the signer appeared before the notary and signed. If you drafted a contract dated June 1 but did not reach the notary until June 8, the notary enters June 8. The notary is certifying when they witnessed your signature, not when the document was drafted.
Notaries are prohibited from backdating or future-dating the certificate to match the document body. A mismatch between the document date and the notarization date is normal. A notary certificate with a false date is a serious error that can cause recording offices to reject the document or opposing parties to challenge it in court.
Signing Electronically
Under federal law, an electronic signature or electronic record cannot be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form. The E-SIGN Act makes digital signatures as valid as ink ones for most transactions.2GovInfo. 15 USC 7001 – General Rule of Validity
If a document with a “dated this ____ day of” line is being signed electronically, fill it in the same way you would by hand: today’s date, in the ordinal-day, spelled-out-month, four-digit-year format. Platforms like DocuSign and Adobe Sign record the date and time each person signs and generate an audit trail that captures the exact moment of execution. That timestamp provides an independent record if anyone later questions the date you typed. Timestamps taken from a signer’s local device clock without third-party verification carry less evidentiary weight than those generated by the platform’s servers, so a reputable e-signature service is worth using when the document matters.