Here’s what I understand of the practice of having those signing a contract also initial each page of the contract:
- It’s commonplace in wills, apparently as a check against substitution of pages.
- It’s required by statute in the case of some contracts. For example, under Ohio Revised Code 1349.55, each page of a contract providing for a non-recourse civil litigation advance must be initialed by the consumer.
- With respect to business contracts, in the U.S. it would be unusual for the parties to initial each page, except in the case of real-estate contracts.
- In Europe, it’s commonplace for the parties to a business contract to initial each page.
Readers, please tell me more, including with respect to jurisdictions outside the U.S. When do you have the parties initial each page, and why?