How to sign a document (signature, initials, stamp)

You want to put a signature, initials or a stamp on a PDF, without printing it and scanning it back in? PDF Archive does it directly on your documents. Here is how, and above all what it is worth and what it is not, so that you do not use it for the wrong thing.

01What we are talking about: a visible signature

Signing a document here means putting a visible, dated mark on the PDF: the digital equivalent of a pen stroke or a rubber stamp on a sheet of paper. It is legible, clean, and kept properly in your archive. It is not, however, a qualified electronic signature (more on that below).

02Two ways to sign

• The text stamp: you enter a signatory name and, if you want, a place. PDF Archive puts a dated stamp at the bottom of the last page, or at the bottom of every page.
• Your signature or your stamp as an image: save a PNG image (ideally with a transparent background) of your signature, your initials or your stamp, then place it by drag and drop wherever you want on the page. You set the size and the opacity, and you can apply it to one page or to all of them.

Your signature images are managed once and for all in your preferences, and stay private: they only ever serve to sign your own documents.

03The original is never modified

When you sign, PDF Archive creates a signed copy added to your folder: your original document stays intact, next to it. You also get the SHA-512 fingerprint of the signed file, a kind of fingerprint of the content. Keep it: at any time you can recompute that fingerprint and confirm that the document has not been modified since.

Good practice: keep the original private, sign a copy, note the SHA-512 fingerprint of the signed file.

04What it is worth, and what it is not

A signature put on this way is useful and legible: it shows an intention, identifies an author to the eye, and the fingerprint proves that the file has not moved afterwards. That is what is needed for everyday uses: initialling a report, stamping an internal document, visibly signing something you send.

But let us be clear about the limits, so as not to mislead you:

• This is not a qualified electronic signature within the meaning of the European eIDAS regulation, and we guarantee no legal value and no automatic admissibility of the signed instrument.
• The SHA-512 fingerprint attests to the integrity of the file (it has not changed), not to the identity of the person who put the signature there.
• For a high stakes commitment that requires an enforceable electronic signature (a contract, an official instrument), go through a qualified electronic signature provider.

05In practice

From a PDF in your archive, open the file and choose Sign: you pick the text stamp or your signature image, you place it and confirm. A signed copy appears in the folder, with its fingerprint. The Sign a PDF tool in the toolbox does the same thing if you are starting from a file you are about to send.

This article is for information and does not constitute legal advice.