eSign records your electronic signing choices and keeps the completed document with a report of the signing activity. This page explains what that record can and cannot show.
Before you sign
- Open your own invitation and confirm the requested details and one-time code, or use the signing feature in your verified account.
- Read all pages. Start and Next jump to fields assigned to you; they do not certify that you have read the intervening pages.
- Draw or type your signature, or explicitly choose your saved appearance. Complete each required field.
- Read and select each required acknowledgement, then choose the final signing action. Stop and contact the sender if you need a correction, another signing method or legal advice.
Signing order and messages
Where a signing order is set, later signers must wait for the earlier group to finish. A message marked queued or accepted by an email service is not proof that it reached an inbox. Use your latest invitation after a resend, because earlier links or codes may no longer work.
The PDF and audit report
The final PDF contains the document pages, applied fields and an appended audit report. The report summarises recorded events, signing declarations and relevant checks. Times come from the eSign server. A separate signed JSON evidence file covers the completed PDF’s fingerprint and activity record. It helps detect changes when verified against a trusted copy of the workspace public key; it does not guarantee how a court will assess a disputed agreement.
The embedded certificate
New completions carry a workspace-issued digital document seal. It protects the completed PDF and attached original against undetected alteration. It is not each signer’s personal digital identity, an independently trusted certificate or a qualified electronic signature, and it does not include an independent timestamp. A PDF reader may show an unknown or untrusted issuer even where the cryptographic signature is valid. Confirm the certificate fingerprint separately with the sender if you need to rely on it.
Already signed or protected PDFs
Create signing copy makes a separate visual copy and preserves the uploaded original unchanged. Any previous signature or certificate remains associated with that original. It is not transferred onto the new copy. The original is attached inside the completed PDF and can also be downloaded by authorised parties. Review the visible content of the copy before signing.
Optional photos and ID checks
An email or mobile code demonstrates access to that contact method, not certified identity. Selfie and ID uploads support a staff review. If you separately consent to local face comparison, it is a review aid processed on the server; it does not authenticate a passport or licence, check liveness or approve a signer on its own. A manual alternative and withdrawal route are available. Read the request-specific notice and our Privacy policy.
Formalities and advice
In England and Wales, an electronic signature can be effective where it records the intention to authenticate and the document’s required formalities are satisfied. Different documents and jurisdictions can require additional steps. This app does not provide witnessing or notarisation and cannot guarantee that a particular agreement is valid. Ask the sender or an independent legal adviser before signing a document you are unsure about.
Law Commission: electronic execution of documents
Getting a copy or help
Download the completed document when everyone has signed. An optional signer account keeps eligible documents together and lets you save a signature appearance for future use. For a correction, missing invitation or accessible alternative, see Help & contact.