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Q: Is it true you can't sign a legal document in China with a ball-point pen?
Anyone know why that is?
11 years 21 weeks ago in Business & Jobs - China
and , what to use instead ? brush and caligraphy work ? 
You can use a ball point, but it needs to have a very fine point. The reason is that the ink in ball point pens fade because of the amount of acid they use in paper here. The fine point pens use a different kind of ink that is iron based, I think. And when it fades, it turns kind of a brown color rather than fading away like the other type of ink.
At home. documents should be signed in black ink as other colours fade away over time, but not black. I don't know if this applies to China.
nevermind:
I was about to say I'd never heard of that, but when you mention it I think I recall seeing documents requesting only black ink before.
GuilinRaf:
It depends on the jurisdiction.
In Puerto Rico, if you sign in black ink, you run the risk of the court refusing to file your motion because they will insist it is a "copy". So, most lawyers back home use blue ink (though the law allows for both).
TedDBayer:
blue ink fades, I use only black, if going back over financials etc, can't read blue later.
No blue or red ink. Black only. Doesn't matter if it's ballpoint pen or not.
Also in China a signature is only legal if it is in BLACK ink while other countries abroad require blue ink. This is why you will see many international contracts signed with dual signatures in both black and blue inks!
I have been told a ball-point pen is not acceptable because the ink does penetrate the paper, rather it stays on the surface. This means the ink can be removed and information can be changed. A liquid ink such as you would use in a fountain pen or a "gel" pen is acceptable.
blue ink does not fax well ...black is better, is what I thought the reasoning behind using black ink was
Not true! WHoever told you that is only pulling your leg. You are so gullible! Uh...Nevermind!
nevermind:
My wife told me that, and she went to law school in China. And the fact I double checked by asking here means I am the opposite of gullible.
I have seen export papers that require blue ink and they are a pain to fill in, can't go outside the line, must print, etc. I've had to redo them every time, which means taking them away for signatures again and again.
