What is Electronic Signature?

A digital mark, typed, drawn, or generated, that indicates a signer's intent to be bound by a document.

An electronic signature (eSignature) is any electronic process, sound, or symbol attached to a contract or record that the signer adopts with intent to sign. Under the U.S. ESIGN Act, the EU eIDAS Regulation, and equivalent statutes worldwide, eSignatures carry the same legal weight as handwritten ones for most contracts. PDF Verified captures three layers of evidence with every signature: the signer's intent (the click), the timestamp and IP, and a tamper-evident hash of the signed document.

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.

How an electronic signature is captured

The signer types their name, draws on a touchscreen, or uploads an image. PDF Verified records the keystroke timing, the canvas stroke metadata, the signer's IP and user-agent, and a SHA-256 hash of the signature image, all stamped to a UTC server clock you can verify on the audit certificate.

Legal weight

In the U.S. (ESIGN, UETA), EU/UK (eIDAS), Kenya (KICA), Nigeria, India, Australia, and Canada, an electronic signature has the same legal binding as a wet-ink signature for nearly all commercial contracts. Higher-risk documents (wills, certain real-estate transfers, family-law filings) may require a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES), see our glossary entry on QES.

eSignature vs digital signature

An electronic signature is the broader category, any electronic indication of intent. A digital signature is a specific cryptographic technique (PKI, X.509 certificates) used to back a signature with non-repudiation. PDF Verified combines both: the user-facing eSignature plus a tamper-evident hash backed by an audit trail.

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.