Sent. Signed.
Sorted.

An electronic signature, or e-signature, is a digital mark, equivalent to a handwritten signature, which is used to signify approval or consent on digital documents or forms. They can take different forms, including a typed name, an uploaded image of a handwritten signature, or a signature created using a mouse or touchscreen.

For most kinds of documents, in many locations, eSignatures can be used to complete a legally binding document. eSignature law varies from country to country, often from region to region, and by use case (e.g. wills and deeds often still need wet ink signatures). Papersign can be used in a compliant manner to e-sign documents, but you should always seek legal advice to ensure that your region’s legal and document type requirements are met.

Papersign implements the technical measures required of the following regulations:

• ESIGN Act and EUTA (US)
• ETA & ETR (AU)
• eiDAS Regulation (EU), except for Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES)
• UK eiDAS Regulation (UK), except for Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES)

eSignatures work by letting users sign digital documents online. Depending on the platform, this could involve typing your name, drawing your signature, or uploading an image of your signature. The platform will then associate this signature with the document and the signer's identity, creating an audit trail that records the signing process.

We’ve got some great demos that show you how Papersign achieves this:

1. Papersign Product Walkthrough
2. How to setup documents for re-use in Papersign
3. Connect Paperform with Papersign to send documents to be signed on new form submissions

Yes. Papersign is secure and your eSigned documents are safe with us. A product of Paperform, Papersign incorporates robust security measures, including encryption and audit trails, to protect your documents and signatures. We also comply with the technical requirements of several eSignature legislations, to ensure the privacy of your information:

• ESIGN Act and EUTA (US)
• ETA & ETR (AU)
• eiDAS Regulation (EU), except for Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES)
• UK eiDAS Regulation (EK), except for Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES)

You can find more information on our security practices here https://paperform.co/help/articles/is-paperform-secure.

Many types of commonly used agreements can be signed electronically. For example, client proposals, employee agreements, non disclosure agreements, purchase orders, insurance claims, and consent forms may be signed using Papersign.

If you already have your documents and are ready to use them with Papersign, you can upload them as PDF, which can be exported from programs like Google Docs and Microsoft Word. You can also create documents from scratch within Papersign itself, or even have a combination of your existing PDF documents and then create new pages and add content as you like.

While the terms are often used interchangeably, there is a technical difference between them. An electronic signature is any mark made on a digital document with the intent to sign. A digital signature, on the other hand, is a type of electronic signature that uses a specific technology known as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to provide additional security measures. Digital signatures authenticate the signer's identity and ensure the document has not been tampered with after it was signed.

Paperform’s “Signature” field is a great way to capture simple electronic signatures within your Paperform form alongside a range of other rich data. Papersign is different in that it:

1. provides the ability to capture a digital signature - a kind of electronic signature with advanced features that keep them compliant and secure, including full automated signature workflows with digital certificates upon completion.
2. allows you to create full documents such as contracts and agreements and to place required fields anywhere in the document. Papersign is super smart, and can dynamically prefill your document with a range of known information to prevent tedious re-entry.
3. allows you to monitor and action requests and reminders for recipients once your document has been sent for signing in a dedicated dashboard.
4. built with eSignature legislation in mind.

With that said, Paperform and Papersign work well together! We’ve integrated the two products so you can capture rich data or take payments, as well as get that contract signed, all in one hit.

Paperform features a direct integration with Papersign. This allows a web form submission to automatically trigger a signature request for a connected document, and any answers given on the web form can be piped into that document before the signature is requested. The request can also be sent to an email address given on the web form.

You can see a demo of this in action here.