Before a child's first day you need a signed service agreement. Chasing paper signatures at every intake takes time, and copies get lost. Online signing fixes both, provided you do it properly.
This guide is informational and not legal advice. Have your agreement's wording reviewed by a lawyer or your association. Subsidized daycares must use the Ministry-prescribed agreement where required.
What good signature evidence includes
- Who signed: an authenticated parent, not just a shared link.
- When: a precise timestamp.
- What: the exact document, protected by a hash that reveals any later change.
- Consent: an explicit checkbox confirming the parent agrees to sign electronically.
- Every signer: when two parents must sign, the agreement is only complete once both have.
Recommended steps
- Prepare an agreement template. If your daycare uses a prescribed PDF, attach it as is.
- Send the agreement to the parent from their account rather than by free-form email.
- The parent reviews and signs: typed name, drawn signature, or both.
- Keep the final PDF with its audit page.
- Schedule reminders for unsigned agreements.
How MyLittleWorld helps
In the Quebec tools, the owner creates the agreement from a template and can attach the prescribed PDF. The parent signs from their portal with explicit consent. The final PDF copies the source document, then adds an audit page with each signer, the timestamp, IP address, browser and SHA-256 hash. Files are private: only the relevant parent and the owner can access them.
MyLittleWorld supports using the prescribed agreement but does not validate its legal wording.