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A contract can be backdated to cover events occurring prior to the date of signature of the contract. It is a common myth that parties can backdate a commercial or technology contract to ensure that it covers events occurring prior to the date of signature.

To accommodate such instances, most jurisdictions allow for contracts to have an effective date that is earlier than the date the documents were signed. This is commonly known as backdating. Generally, backdating an agreement is legitimate if it accurately memorializes an unwritten agreement between the parties.

Contracts can also, confusingly, contain defined dates such as 'commencement date', 'effective date' or 'start date'. These dates indicate when the contract or parts of it are due to have legal effect, if these dates are different to the contract and/or signature dates.

Not advisable legally. Signing and dating should occur at the same time in almost any circumstance.

If the person who signed it did not date the signature, the contract becomes active when the agreement leaves his or her hands. However, if the contract includes an effective date, the contract becomes valid from the stated date, and not when the signatures are dated.

The signature date is important as it is evidence of what day a party has signed. Since a contract is formed between at least two or more signing parties, it's possible that both signing parties sign on the same date or on different dates.

If the parties have agreed that the contract should have effect as from a date earlier than the date on which the last signatory actually signed, an express term can be included in the contract, making it clear that the contract is intended to take effect as from that earlier date.