Final commercial lease signing checklist: verify the execution set

The final signing check confirms that the document package matches the terms and version the responsible reviewers approved. Compare the execution copy with the last reviewed draft, verify the exhibits, and reconcile the open-items log. A filename containing “final” is not evidence of approval.

This workflow supplements the substantive commercial lease review checklist. It does not determine legal sufficiency or signing authority; those need confirmation from the appropriate people.

Freeze a clearly identified review baseline

Record the filename, date, sender, and version of the last approved draft. Retain that source file. Identify any changes approved afterward and the evidence for those approvals.

If there is no agreed baseline, resolve that first. Comparing the execution set against a draft someone happened to save yesterday can miss a negotiated change in a different branch of the document history.

Compare the execution copy

When comparable Word files are available, create a comparison between the identified baseline and execution copy. Microsoft's legal blackline documentation describes producing a comparison in a new document and selecting comparison options. Existing tracked changes need attention when interpreting the result.

Keep original files intact and review both the differences and the complete resulting text. For a PDF-only execution set, use a suitable comparison and visual review process; do not treat OCR or text extraction as proof that formatting, signatures, plans, and attachments match.

Check the document inventory

• Main lease and all pages.
• Exhibits listed in the lease.
• Work letter and construction plans, where applicable.
• Guaranty and other separately signed documents.
• Premises description, suite plan, and any parking or storage schedule.
• Referenced riders, amendments, and addenda.
• Signature pages associated with the correct documents.

This is a starting inventory. Tailor it to the actual references in the lease and have the responsible reviewers confirm completeness. A listed exhibit that was never supplied is an unresolved item, not an empty attachment slot to ignore.

Recheck the business terms most vulnerable to version drift

Confirm parties, premises, area, rent schedule, escalations, abatement, allowance, dates, deposit, and option terms. Compare source quotations rather than relying only on summaries. Verify that related provisions in the lease body and exhibits are consistent or that counsel has resolved their relationship.

Use the LOI discrepancy workflow as a final baseline check, accounting for later agreed changes. A negotiated change from the LOI is not an error if it is intentional and documented.

Reconcile the issue log

For each item marked closed, check the cited language in the execution copy. For each open item, obtain a documented disposition from the responsible decision-maker. Do not interpret silence as an instruction to accept a change.

An illustrative allowance item marked “agreed at $40 per square foot” remains a signing question if the attached work letter says $32. Record the discrepancy, identify the needed correction, and verify the revised attachment before considering the issue resolved.

Plan the post-signing handoff

Retain the complete signed package and identify who will maintain it. Update the lease abstract, payment schedule, critical dates, allowance tasks, and insurance or operational handoff items.

Keep proposed and signed versions distinguishable. If a commencement date will be confirmed later, assign the evidence-gathering task now. A well-organized signing package should let the next person answer both “what did we sign?” and “what do we need to do next?”