eSignature & Stamp Glossary

Plain-English definitions of eSignature, digital signature, stamp, notarization and document-verification terms.

Drop your document here and sign it now. PDF, Word and Excel all work: a .docx or .xlsx is laid out in your browser exactly as it was written, so there is nothing to convert first. Add a signature, a date, a company stamp or a watermark, then download it sealed. Free to start, no account, and the file is never uploaded to open it.

• Electronic Signature, A digital mark, typed, drawn, or generated, that indicates a signer's intent to be bound by a document.
• Digital Signature, A cryptographic signature using public-key infrastructure (PKI) that mathematically proves authorship and detects any tampering.
• eIDAS, The EU regulation that defines three legal tiers of electronic signature, Simple (SES), Advanced (AdES), and Qualified (QES).
• ESIGN Act, The U.S. federal law (15 U.S.C. § 7001) that gives electronic signatures the same legal effect as handwritten ones.
• UETA, The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, U.S. state-level law adopted in 49 states giving electronic signatures legal validity.
• Qualified Electronic Signature (QES), The highest tier of electronic signature under eIDAS, legally equivalent to a handwritten signature in every EU member state.
• Advanced Electronic Signature (AdES), A middle-tier eIDAS signature that uniquely identifies the signer and detects any later changes to the document.
• Audit Trail, A timestamped, immutable record of every action taken on a document, view, sign, decline, download, share.
• Audit Certificate, A PDF that summarizes every event in a document's audit trail, the legal evidence record for a signed contract.
• KYC (Know Your Customer), Identity verification, typically ID document upload + selfie liveness check, to confirm a signer is who they claim to be.
• Liveness Check, Anti-spoof technology that confirms a real, live person is present in front of the camera, not a photo, video, or mask.
• PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), The cryptographic framework, keys, certificates, and authorities, that backs digital signatures and HTTPS.
• Hash (SHA-256), A one-way function that turns any document into a fixed-length fingerprint, used to detect tampering.
• TSP (Trust Service Provider), An EU-recognized organization that issues digital certificates and timestamp tokens used in Advanced and Qualified eSignatures.
• eSignature vs Digital Signature, eSignature is the broad legal category; digital signature is a specific cryptographic technique within it.
• Envelope, A container for a document (or set of documents) plus its signers, routing rules, and signing status.
• Signing Order, The rule that controls when each signer is unlocked, all at once (parallel) or one after another (sequential).
• Signer, A party invited to sign a document, identified by name, email or phone, and the role they're signing as.
• Tamper-Evident, A property where any post-signing change to a document is immediately detectable through a hash mismatch.
• Witness, A third party who observes a signing and signs the document themselves to attest that the signer's consent was given knowingly.
• Notary / Notarization, A formal certification by a public officer that a signer's identity is verified and the document was executed willingly.
• AML (Anti-Money Laundering), Regulations and screening designed to prevent financial systems from being used to launder illicit funds.
• GDPR, The EU's data-protection regulation governing how personal data is collected, processed, stored, and erased.
• DPA (Data Processing Agreement), A contract between a data controller and a data processor required by GDPR Article 28.
• Data Residency, Where customer data is physically stored, a compliance requirement in many jurisdictions.
• In-Person Signing, A flow where the signer signs on the document owner's device, typically in a retail, lender, or sales meeting.
• OTP (One-Time Password), A short numeric code sent via SMS, WhatsApp, or email that the signer enters to authenticate before signing.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), An identity check that requires two independent factors, typically a password plus a code from a phone or app.
• eStamp, A digital replacement for a physical company stamp, overlaid on a signed document for visual authority.
• Company Seal, A company's official mark, historically embossed, now applied digitally, that signifies the organisation has formally executed a document.
• Official Seal, A formal seal applied by an authority or organisation to certify that a document is authentic and officially issued.
• Digital Stamp, An electronic stamp applied to a document online, replacing a physical rubber stamp with a verifiable, reusable mark.
• Rubber Stamp, The classic ink-on-paper stamp, and how to replace it with a digital rubber stamp you can apply to PDFs online.
• Approval Stamp, A stamp, typically "APPROVED", applied to mark that a document has passed review and is authorised to proceed.
• Certified True Copy, A copy of a document stamped and signed to certify it is a faithful, unaltered reproduction of the original.
• Notary Stamp, The official seal a notary public applies to attest they witnessed a signing or certified a document.
• Stamp Verification, Confirming that a stamp on a document is genuine, current, and not revoked, usually by scanning its QR code or visiting its verification link.
• Document Fraud, Forging, altering, or falsely presenting a document, prevented by cryptographic sealing and public verification.
• Tamper-Evident Seal, A cryptographic seal that makes any change to a document detectable after it is signed.
• Virtual Signature, An informal name for an electronic signature: a signature applied on a screen rather than on paper.
• Autograph, A handwritten name given as a keepsake, which is not the same act as a signature even when the writing is identical.
• Sign Manual, The formal term for a personal handwritten signature, used where a document must be signed by an individual's own hand.
• Signoff Tool, Software used to record an approval on a document, which may or may not be a signature in the legal sense.

What PDF Verified is, and what it is not

Electronic signature law is settled in broad terms and specific in the details. The ESIGN Act, UETA, eIDAS and their equivalents recognise electronic signatures across more than 190 countries, and what decides a particular case is intent to sign plus evidence connecting the signature to the signer, which is what the audit certificate records. Certain document types carry their own formalities wherever you are: deeds, wills, some property instruments, and anything requiring a witness or a notary. Sign only what you are authorised to sign, since applying another person signature without their authority is forgery whatever tool is used.

PDF Verified is a tool for preparing, signing, stamping and checking documents. It is not a law firm, a compliance service or a forensic examiner, and nothing here is legal, financial or compliance advice. Requirements differ by country, by document type and by the party asking, so check what applies to your document before you rely on it, and take advice where the document matters. You are responsible for the documents you create, sign and send, and for having the authority to do so: signing or stamping in somebody else name, or as an organisation you do not represent, is forgery whatever tool is used. To the extent the law allows, we accept no liability for how a document made with this tool is used or relied on. The full position is in our terms of service.