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.

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.