How to use the log
- Fill in the document details before the documents leave the sender, and note the seal or envelope reference if they are sealed.
- Print the log and keep it with the documents, outside any sealed envelope.
- At every handover, complete one row: date and time, the person releasing the documents, the person receiving them, the place, and whether the seal was intact. Both people sign.
- On delivery, the final recipient completes the last row. Copy or photograph the log and return it to the sender.
What makes a custody record useful?
A custody record is only as good as its weakest row. The common gaps are rows filled in afterwards, times rounded to the nearest hour, illegible names and a missing row where documents sat in a van overnight. Write the actual time, print names as well as signing, and record every change of hands, including handovers inside your own business, such as from the office to a driver.
Where documents must be handed to a named person, record that person’s name and role exactly. Under the Civil Procedure Rules, a certificate of service for personal service must state the date and time of service, so a log that records both precisely makes the certificate easier to complete. Whether a particular handover amounts to valid service is a legal question for the instructing solicitor, not something a log can settle.
Paper log or tracking system?
A paper log records what people write down. A tracking system can add what they cannot easily fake: the GPS position and time of each status change, the route between them, and a photo at the handover. Track That Ride keeps that record for every delivery, logs who views or exports it, and can hold a disputed delivery’s route beyond the usual 180 days. Many firms use both: the paper log for signatures that travel with the papers, and the system for times and places. See legal document courier tracking and our guide to chain of custody for legal documents.