What is Signature Authority?
Only a few select individuals are authorized to sign contracts on behalf of the UW. This is due to the UW’s status as a state agency. Any contract or agreement that binds the UW to a legal or financial obligation requires an official UW signature to be valid.
What Falls Under this Policy?
The actual title of the document is not important, as a “contract,” an “agreement” or a “memorandum of understanding” each have the potential to legally obligate the university to undertake certain actions or pay certain amounts. Therefore, it is important that the terms of the contract are reviewed, approved, and routed to the proper signature authority. By submitting a contract through the proper channels (RAMP, Shop UW, etc.), your agreement will be routed to the correct signature authority once review and negotiations are completed.
IMPORTANT (if asked to sign please decline): If you receive a contract that asks for your individual signature, do not sign without consulting the SMPH Contracts Team. This often occurs when you are providing in-house consulting (i.e. consulting as part of your UW appointment). These agreements are signed by the SMPH CFO.
For more information on signature authority, see the most recent Memorandum published September 2024:
Signature authority may be updated from time to time. This document is for reference purposes only.