Client document receipt acknowledgement template
An acknowledgement of receipt, signed by an office employee and whoever delivers the papers, records each document received: description, original or copy, page count, and the date and purpose of receipt. It settles later disputes over a missing original, and the client signs its return table when originals come back.
The acknowledgement is written by whoever actually receives the papers: the receptionist at the first visit, the lawyer when the client hands over a document before a hearing, or the office’s representative when collecting papers from the client’s company. It is made in two copies: one the client keeps as proof of what was handed over, and one kept in the client’s file together with a scanned copy. Its real value shows months later, when the client asks about an original contract or cheque, the lawyer responsible for the file changes, or the work ends and the client asks for the papers back; the answer is then in a signed table, not in anyone’s memory.
When do you need this template?
- When opening the file and receiving the client’s first papers: a copy of the ID card, contracts, correspondence and earlier judgments.
- When receiving a document the lawyer needs for an upcoming hearing or a memorandum, even a single sheet.
- When taking in an original of particular value, such as a cheque, a promissory note, a signed contract or a judgment bearing the executory formula.
- When the client’s papers are delivered by someone else on the client’s behalf, such as an employee of the client’s company or a relative.
- When returning originals to the client at the end of the work, or when the client’s file moves to another firm.
What must it include?
- A serial number and date for the acknowledgement, the client’s name and file number, and the case or matter the documents relate to.
- The name, ID card number and capacity of the person handing over the documents, if not the client in person.
- A table of every document: a description that identifies it by its number or date, whether it is an original or a copy, its page count and a note on its condition.
- The purpose of receipt and the limits on how the documents may be used.
- A declaration by the person delivering that the documents are genuine to the best of their knowledge and lawfully in their possession.
- How originals are kept and returned, and who is entitled to collect them.
- The signature of the person delivering, the name, position and signature of the receiving employee, and the office stamp.
- A return table in which the recipient signs against each original handed back.
Acknowledgement of Receipt of Documents
[Firm name], represented by the employee signing below, acknowledges that it has received from Mr/Ms [Name of person delivering], holder of QID No. [QID number], acting as [the client / the client’s representative], the documents listed in the following table, belonging to the client [Client name]:
| # | Document and description | Original / copy | No. of pages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar ID card No. [QID number] | Copy | [Number] | Valid until [Expiry date] |
| 2 | [Type of contract] dated [Date] between [Parties] | [Original / copy] | [Number] | [Notes] |
| 3 | [Cheque / promissory note] No. [Number] for QAR [Amount in figures] | [Original / copy] | [Number] | [Notes] |
| 4 | [Description of the document and its date or number] | [Original / copy] | [Number] | [Notes] |
| 5 | [Description of the document and its date or number] | [Original / copy] | [Number] | [Notes] |
Number of documents received: [Number], of which [Number] are originals.
Clause 1: Purpose of receipt
These documents have been received for use in the [case / service / consultation] referred to above. Only what the work requires will be submitted to the court or the competent authority, and the Firm keeps copies of them in the client’s file.
Clause 2: Declaration of the person delivering
The person delivering declares that, to the best of their knowledge, the documents listed above are genuine and lawfully in their possession, and bears sole responsibility for any consequence should this prove otherwise.
Clause 3: Safekeeping and return of originals
The Firm keeps the originals received in the client’s file and returns them to the client, or to a person the client authorises in writing, on request or when the work ends, after verifying the recipient’s identity and obtaining the recipient’s signature in the return table below.
Clause 4: Copies
This acknowledgement is made in two copies: one has been handed to the person delivering, and the other is kept in the client’s file at the Firm.
Annex: Return of originals
To be completed whenever any of the originals listed above is returned; the recipient signs against each document collected.
| Document No. in the table | Date of return | Recipient’s name and QID No. | Capacity | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Number] | [Date] | [Name] – [QID number] | [Client / authorised person] | .................... |
| [Number] | [Date] | [Name] – [QID number] | [Client / authorised person] | .................... |
Make a new acknowledgement for each batch of documents, and never add a handwritten line to an acknowledgement once it has been signed.
How to fill in the template
Describe each document so it can be told apart
Write the document’s type, its number or date, and its parties, such as “lease contract dated [Date] between [Parties]”, not “case papers” or “a set of documents”. A description that does not tell one document from another proves nothing in a dispute.
Separate originals from copies in front of the client
Go through the papers with the person handing them over before signing, and mark each one: original or copy, and how many pages. If a copy is certified by an official body, say so in the notes; it is not the same as an ordinary copy.
Record the document’s condition
If a document has missing pages, writing or crossings-out on it, or is unsigned, note it in the notes column before signing; whatever is not written down now may later be laid at the office’s door.
Link the acknowledgement to the file and the purpose
Write the client’s file number and the case or service the documents were handed over for, so that whoever opens the file months later knows why they were received, and the client is reassured they will not be used for anything else.
Both sign, then hand over the first copy
The person delivering and the receiving employee sign and the acknowledgement is stamped; one copy goes to the client, the other is kept in the file with a scanned copy, and the originals go to the place set aside for them in the office.
On return: verify, then ask for a signature
Hand an original only to the client in person or to someone the client authorises in writing, after checking their ID card; ask for their signature against each document in the return table, and keep the authorisation letter with the acknowledgement.
Common mistakes
- A general description such as “the complete case file”, after which nobody can prove whether a particular document was handed over or not.
- Not distinguishing originals from copies, then facing a client who asks for an original the office says it only ever received a copy of.
- Adding documents by hand to an acknowledgement already signed, instead of making a new acknowledgement for each batch.
- Handing originals to the client’s relative or driver without a written authorisation and without a signature in the return table.
- Giving the client the only signed copy without keeping a copy or a scan of it in the file.
Issue this document from your office’s data
Murafe has an “Acknowledgement of handover of documents” under “Forms & printouts”: the same paper, seen from the side of the client who hands the documents over. It opens from the client’s file, a case, a criminal complaint or a consultation with its details filled in automatically, or directly from the “Forms & printouts” list. A preview of the page as it will print sits beside the fields and updates with every change; the form takes a serial number starting with DA and prints in the uniform printout design, with the office’s letterhead and logo. After signing, the scanned signed copy is attached on the form’s own page, and a blank form can be printed for filling in by hand when needed. Printing the acknowledgement is a separate permission in “Roles & permissions”, and every print is recorded in the audit log with the employee’s name, the time and the document number. And in every case, service and consultation, the “Received by” field keeps a record of the employee who received the client’s papers and registered the file.