Online applications can be used for everything from getting a mortgage to finding a job. You still need to sign the application for others to work with it properly, however. There are a few ways to do this.
Table of Contents
- What is a digital signature?
- Are digital signatures legally binding?
- What are the requirements that make a digital signature valid?
- Can I create my digital signature without writing anything?
- What if there’s a place to add a signature in the online form?
- How to create a digital signature with a third-party service
- How do I sign an online form with PDF.co digital signature?
- How to create a digital signature in Word?
- What does a digital signature mean to computers?
- Can digital signatures be forged?
- Are digital signatures valid on all documents?
- Is owning a digital signature right for my business?
- How do you select the right digital signature service?
- What kind of companies use a digital signature?
- Can a digital signature be copied or forged?
- Can anybody still use a digital signature after it is withdrawn?
- How are digital signatures safe?
- Can someone change or modify a digital signature?
- Where can I get more information on digital signatures for different countries?
What is a digital signature?
A digital signature, also known as an electronic signature, is a form of a signature that is electronic in form. It allows the user to attach their signatures to electronic files or documents. This type of signature functions like a physical signature, and it makes for a secure, fast, and convenient method for the validation of digital or electronic documents.
Are digital signatures legally binding?
Digital signatures are generally valid and binding appendages, just like physical signatures, if they adhere to some specific requirements. The failure of a digital signature to adhere to these requirements may render it null and void.
What are the requirements that make a digital signature valid?
For a digital signature to be valid, it must be legally accepted by the law within a particular country or geographic location. Also, it must fulfill the following conditions.
- Each signature shall be distinctive to the owner.
- The use of such a signature is entirely under the owner’s discretion.
- A detailed record of the signature’s creation and modification must be attached and visible at all times.
- In locations where the use of digital signatures is valid, recipients of documents with such signatures must accept such documents from the owners.
Can I create my digital signature without writing anything?
Yes! This is probably the easiest method of signing an online application. Simply check the box that indicates you’ve read the terms and conditions of the application. Then click the «Agree», «Submit» or similar button to send the application to the recipient. You might need to answer a security question associated with your account to use this method.
What if there’s a place to add a signature in the online form?
Find out how to upload a signature in the online application form and to sign online forms easily. If an employer or another party has provided them, fill in the text fields for your name. Alternately, you might see a button such as «Add signature». Click the button. The service should give you signing options. These can include typing, drawing, or inserting an image of your name. Pick the option you want. Then confirm the signature. That is all you need to know about how to sign an online form.
How to create a digital signature with a third-party service
Sometimes, organizations require you to download your application and submit a completed version via a signature signing service (e.g., PDF.co). You won’t need to create a digital signature in Word or other software for this. But you must upload the application to the provider’s website, ideally in PDF format.
If needed, select the application once you’ve uploaded it. Then specify the name and email address of the person you want to send the signed document to. If a signature field isn’t already in the application, create one. Click on the signature field and follow the prompts to type, draw or insert an image. Confirm the signature. The provider’s system then should send an email message to the recipient telling them you’ve signed.
Take a look at a few steps showing you how to sign an application online.
How do I sign an online form with PDF.co digital signature?
Check out this tutorial to learn how you can create electronic signatures and sign a file virtually using pdf.co and Zapier. Basically, you can sign an online document any time using these easy steps.
Step 1. The first thing to do is to make your signature in the PDF.co Make Signature Tool. There are three font color options, and you may also choose an option to resize your signature. After everything is done, click on the Save Image button.
Step 2. There are two options for how you can save your signature when it is ready. First, you may save it to your device as a PNG image. Otherwise, you can get it as Datauri URL.
Step 3. In order to proceed & put a signature on form, you will use PDF.co integration with Zapier. It enables pasting the signature into your document. To be able to do this, you should have a free Zapier account and PDF.co API key. If you have issues with doing that, just check out this page where you will find all the information.
After you create and set up your account, you can select PDF.co as the App and PDF Filler as the Action Event.
Step 4. Now you can use the PDF Filler app to put in the name and signature in the PDF document.
- First, enter the PDF URL in the Source PDF field;
- Insert the x and y coordinates of the name as well as the font name, size, and page number in the Text Object field. They must be in the following format
x;y;pageNumber;text;fontSize;fontName - In order to get x and y coordinates, you can use the PDF.co Simple PDF Viewer Tool All you need to do is to upload a PDF for signature online from your computer, Dropbox, or a URL. If you hover the mouse over the place where you plan to insert your text and signature, you will see the x and y coordinates in the top left corner. You may use them for Text Object and Images fields.
- So, insert the x and y coordinate, page number, Datauri URL, and signature width and height in the Images field. They must be in the following format
x;y;pageNumber;url;linkToOpen;width;height
Step 5. When the previous step is done, Test & Review your PDF Filler data app.
You will see when the test is successful. It means that the PDF filler was sent to PDF.co. After that, you will get your signed document.
Note: there is an option to store your signatures as private URLs that can be used for document signing in the future. Learn more about it in this tutorial.
- fill PDF forms (
pdf/edit/addendpoint) - add text, images, and scanned signatures to existing PDF (
pdf/edit/addendpoint) - merge PDF documents (
pdf/mergeendpoint for example, cover + contract + additional) - merge PDF, documents, images, emails, and ZIP files into PDF (
pdf/merge2endpoint) - split PDF (
pdf/splitthat can use to extract a page or range of pages from input PDF) - docx/xlsx to PDF (
pdf/convert/from/docendpoint) - generate rich formatted PDF from HTML or URL to an existing web page (
pdf/convert/from/htmlandpdf/convert/from/urlendpoints)
How to create a digital signature in Word?
There are many documents such as invoices, medical forms, and official documents that need a digital signature. When you want to produce a document that demands a digital signature, here are the actions to affix a signature to your Word document.
- Put the cursor in the Word document where you desire to include a digital signature.
- Now, click the Insert button.
- Choose the Signature Line.
- A menu will emerge.
- Insert all the data in the expected fields.
- Choose OK.
- A signature line will now emerge in the Word document.
- When you’re done, send the document to your contact.
The above steps are used to create a digital signature in word. Now if you are the receiver of the document then follow the below steps to complete the digital signature.
- After opening the word document, you will see a yellow alert bar that says that this document needs a digital signature.
- Now after this, in the yellow alert bar, choose View Signatures.
- Now to insert your signature, double click next to the “X.”
- A Sign box will emerge. Now you can type your name to adopt as your digital signature, or you can upload your signature online.
- Now click Sign.
What does a digital signature mean to computers?
In digital signatures, the private key is encrypted when it is saved on a laptop or a computer. When a user signs any document, he/she inserts a digital signature Permission Code to unlock the private key. The owner of the permission code is required to keep it safe all the time.
If anyone sees the permission code and also has a passage to the laptop containing the private key, the probity of the private key is negotiated. If this happens, you must abandon the permission code and get a new one. The process is somewhat similar to you would handle a lost or stolen bank card.
Can digital signatures be forged?
An e-document is any document that is created or saved on the laptop, such as a report, a record, or a property document. In extension, an electronic document can be an illustration, such as a picture, a questionnaire, a sketch, or even a portrait. A digital signature can be utilized to signify these documents.
The important question is can digital signatures be forged? The answer is: Not reasonable. This is because it is shielded by various coats of extremely difficult encryption. People always think that a written signature is different from the signer and the parts of the paper which include it. What if someone creates an immeasurable image of the handwritten sign? Or, what if on a lengthy deal, someone modifies the text of the sheets prior to the sign page?
In these cases, the sign is true, but the document has been changed. With digital signatures, fraud is almost unimaginable and much more complicated than manufacturing a handwritten sign. First, a digital signature is more like a method than simply appending a sign. For instance, when the report is “digitally signed,” the digital software examines the paper and produces a computation that describes the paper.
This computation becomes a portion of the “digital signature.” When the receiver verifies the sign, a comparable method is carried out. The sender’s and the receiver’s computations are then matched. If the outcomes are identical, the sign is legitimate; if they are separate, the sign is not accurate.
Are digital signatures valid on all documents?
Although digital signatures are valid for use in different locations on a wide range of documents, there are a few exceptions. These exceptions mostly require additional identification or witness because of their susceptibility to fraud or forgery. These documents include the following.
- Power of attorney documents,
- Will documents,
- Marriage-related documents,
- Court documentation,
- Certain financial transactions.
Is owning a digital signature right for my business?
If the law of your country allows the use of digital signatures and you decide to adopt them for your business, you are going to add a high layer of security to your business. Be sure to check if your country allows the use of digital signatures and the degree of flexibility.
Also, if you plan to save some money, using digital signatures can help your business to go paperless, which also helps to save the environment.
How do you select the right digital signature service?
When you decide to obtain a digital signature, you should select a service that provides the following.
- Provides signatures that make documents legal and abide by the laws of the land.
- There should be an option for a mass signature appendage to authorize several documents at a go.
- All its processes must be fast and straightforward to ensure a smooth and fast flow of work.
What kind of companies use a digital signature?
Due to the many advantages it gives and the amount of protection it grants, the digital signature has been utilized by diverse companies. Digital Signature is popular in public as well as private sectors, and in businesses as different as commercial, healthcare, or constitutional. The governments of each country control its application. Also, many businesses want to reach the standard of a “paperless office“, which would enable them to reduce costs.
Can a digital signature be copied or forged?
It is almost difficult to copy or forge a digital signature. It is safe and has been used online for authentication. Thus it is more reliable and safe than a hand-written signature which can be viewed and possibly copied by anyone who recognizes a document carrying the hand-written sign. Documents can have various digital signatures. For instance, a document could have a digital signature implemented by a cosigner, an examiner, and an author.
Can anybody still use a digital signature after it is withdrawn?
Well, a digital signature belongs to a person. It can only be exercised by that person. In many cases, the digital signature is assigned by the organization or an owner and not to a person. Thus, a digital signature can be withdrawn by the organization or by the company if the employee has left the job. Once it has been discovered that a person is without the required authority to utilize their signature, the cancellation is immediate and the digital signature is no longer works.
Not all digital signatures are assigned and regulated identically. Governments tend to restrict the number of authentication jurisdictions they will accept or approve. Stringent guidelines are placed and reviewed to assure that the authorized digital signature certificate administration has established technology, protection, management, and method.
How are digital signatures safe?
Digital signatures are composed by using cryptography that was basically created in the 1970s and is still held as the model to guard various types of data. The signature’s cryptographic features are applied in regular lives to defend websites, information, records, and business transactions. Hence, they are very safe because of the robust cryptography technique. A digital signature is normally created by using some standard rules that are meant to serve a type of technological circumstance. For example, they will work with different technologies like Outlook, Word, and PDF formats.
Can someone change or modify a digital signature?
A digitally signed document can be registered but cannot be simply modified. If it were to be modified, the digital signature would be excluded from the document, thus giving the document a copy of the primary file. For instance, in paper form, a signature can be copied, thus producing a copy of the first and this copy can be quickly changed and modified. The same is true for a digital signature. It can be “reproduced” as a PDF and the new file then converts into a copy of the first file. The only difference is that this copy can be changed but, for the receiver, it is a copy because the digital signature is now not a part of the PDF.
Where can I get more information on digital signatures for different countries?
If you want to know more about digital signatures, you can check out the blog posts from pdf.co. There, you are going to find details on the use of digital signatures for a handful of countries.
