What is a shareholders' agreement?
Three shareholders and their company agree how the company is run: board seats, decisions that need everyone's consent, new shares, share transfers, deadlock and leaving. Start from this template in FileIt eSignature: fill in the blanks, add the people who sign, and send it. Everyone signs online and the signed PDF is filed in your vault.
What you fill in
19 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: company, first shareholder, second shareholder, third shareholder.
1 The company
- Effective date*
- Company name*
- Company or registration number
- The company's business*
2 The shareholders
- First shareholder*
- First shareholder's shares*
- Second shareholder*
- Second shareholder's shares*
- Third shareholder*
- Third shareholder's shares*
3 Running the company
- Board appointment rights*
- Decisions needing every shareholder's consent*
- Dividend policy
4 Shares
- Days other shareholders have to buy shares offered for sale*
- Shareholding needed to drag the others along* 50% · 66.67% · 75% · 90% · No drag-along
5 Leaving and disputes
- If the shareholders are deadlocked* the matter is referred to mediation, and if still unresolved any shareholder may offer to buy out the others · the matter is referred to mediation, and if still unresolved the shareholders will consider selling or winding up the company · the chair of the board has a casting vote
- How a departing shareholder's shares are valued* fair market value agreed between the shareholders or, failing agreement, set by an independent accountant · a price set by the formula in the Schedule attached to this Agreement
- Non-compete after leaving (months)
- Governing law*
6 Who signs
- Company signature and date, job title, initials on every page · A director signs for the company.
- First shareholder signature and date, job title, initials on every page
- Second shareholder signature and date, job title, initials on every page
- Third shareholder signature and date, job title, initials on every page
What the shareholders' agreement covers
- Background and shareholdings
- The board
- Decisions needing every Shareholder's consent
- Information
- Dividends
- Dividends
- New shares
- Transfers of shares
- Leaving the Company
- Deadlock
- Confidentiality
- General
Sign it online in minutes
- Fill in the blanks. Names, dates and amounts go straight into the agreement — the preview shows exactly where.
- Name who signs. Tick “This is me” for your own part. FileIt builds the PDF with every signature, date and initials box on the right line, and you can check or move anything before sending.
- Send it. Each signer gets a secure link and signs from any device — no account needed. The signed PDF, with an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion, is filed in your vault and emailed to everyone.