Electronic signatures

With electronic signatures, the person who prints a document decides who has to sign it. The signers get an email with their own link and sign on screen, without an account. When everyone has signed, Sealed Print seals the PDF with a timestamp, adds a signing certificate, emails the sealed PDF to everyone involved and continues the job on its way. Every page carries a verification code, so even a printout can be checked.

These are simple electronic signatures under eIDAS, not qualified ones. They cannot replace the written form where the law requires it (for example § 126 BGB in Germany).

Prerequisites

• The Team or Business plan, or Free with pay per use. Each signer who signs counts as one signature: Team and Business include a number of signatures per month and bill further ones; with pay per use every signature is billed. See Plans and billing.
• A job with a PDF document in the queue, for example printed to the hold printer, or waiting for a destination. Encrypted, damaged or already signed PDFs cannot be signed.
• The names and email addresses of the signers.

One-time setup

Nothing to set up. The texts of the signature emails use English and the organization language (Settings → Organization → Organization language).

Every time

1. Prepare the request

1. Open the job in the Queue and select Request signatures. A job that was already delivered is duplicated first. The editor opens.
2. Under Signers and copies, select Add signer for every person who signs, with name and email address. Add copy adds people who only receive the sealed document.
3. Optionally switch on Sign one after another: lower numbers sign first, the same number signs at the same time. An Access code (optional) protects the link; pass it on to the signer by another way, such as by phone.
4. Place the fields: choose Field for (the signer) and the Field type (Signature, Initials, Date signed, Name, Text or Checkbox), then tap on a page to place it; drag it to move it. Every signer needs a signature field.
5. Under Email, optionally add a subject and a message, and set the Signing period (days).
6. Select Send and confirm. The document can no longer be changed. Save draft keeps it for later.

2. Follow the progress

The job shows Awaiting signatures and how many have signed. The editor shows the status of every signer and the audit trail. Remind sends the invitation again; Cancel signing stops the request and tells everyone invited.

3. What the signer does

The signer opens the link in the email, enters the access code if there is one, reads the document, agrees to sign electronically, adopts a signature (typed or drawn), fills in their fields and selects Finish. They can also Decline with a reason.

4. When everyone has signed

Sealed Print seals the PDF, appends the signing certificate, emails the sealed PDF to you, every signer and every copy recipient, and the job continues on its way, for example to its printer. The document versions of the job show the version As received and the version Signed and sealed. Signed documents are kept without a time limit, whatever the retention period, until an admin deletes the job.

Check a signed document

• On paper: scan the QR code on a page or open the address printed next to it. The verification page shows who signed and when, and, while the organization keeps the document, the original pages for comparison.
• As a file: upload the PDF at Verify a signed document.
• In a PDF reader: the seal shows that the document was not changed after signing. To have it shown as trusted, import the root certificate from Seal and root certificate.

Troubleshooting

• "Electronic signatures are part of the Team plan": upgrade under Settings → Billing, or turn on pay per use there (Free).
• "Every signer needs a signature field": place at least one Signature field for each signer.
• "This PDF cannot be signed": the PDF is encrypted, damaged or already signed. Print it again as a new PDF.
• A signer did not get the email: the audit trail shows whether the invitation was delivered or bounced. Ask the signer to check the spam folder and use Remind. A sent request cannot be changed: if the address is wrong, select Cancel signing and send a new request.
• "Locked after too many wrong codes": the signer entered a wrong access code too often. Cancel and send a new request.
• "The signature request expired before everyone signed": send a new request with a longer signing period.

What's next

• Retention and data protection: how long signed documents and verification records are kept.
• Hold and workflows