Asking someone to sign a PDF
A Sign PDF request puts a PDF in front of someone and records their signature on it. Use it for a document that already exists as a PDF: a contractor agreement, a photography release, a venue policy, an NDA. It is one more kind of request, so it sits in the same checklist on their private link as their uploads and questions, on an event or a Portal alike.
For terms you keep as text in your terms library, a Terms request is the better fit. See Sending a terms request.
Adding the request
Open the event or Portal, go to the Requests panel and pick Sign PDF. Give it a name, choose the PDF from your computer, and decide how the person signs:
- Require a typed name asks them to type their full name.
- Require a drawn signature adds a pad they sign with a finger, mouse or pen.
Both are on by default. Tick Required if they can't finish without signing.
The PDF has to be uploaded to the request itself, up to 10 MB. A file from your Files library can be edited later, and a link can change without anyone knowing, so neither is accepted: the document people sign has to stay exactly as it was.
What they see
On their link the request shows the PDF's name and an Open button. The PDF opens in a new tab, which works reliably on a phone. Once they've opened it, they tick that they've read it and agree, type their name, draw their signature and tap Sign. The Sign button stays disabled until every required part is done.
After signing they see who signed and when, their signature, and a link to download their signed copy.
What gets recorded
For each signature 1pm records:
- Who signed, identified through their own private link.
- That they ticked to confirm they read and agree to the document.
- Their typed name and drawn signature, where you asked for them.
- The exact PDF they signed: the file itself, kept as it was, and its SHA-256 fingerprint.
- The date, time, IP address and browser they signed from.
Once signed, the request counts as done on their completion bar and on the Requests page.
The signed copy
Open the request's responses and each signature has Download signed copy (PDF). The file is the PDF they signed, with a signature page added at the end listing the document, who signed, when, from which IP address and browser, the drawn signature, and the document's SHA-256 fingerprint. The person who signed can download the same file from their link.
The fingerprint is how you prove which document was signed. It changes if even one byte of the PDF changes, so anyone can check a copy of the document against the value on the signature page.
Replacing the PDF
You can upload a new version of the PDF at any time from the request. People who already signed keep their signature, and the PDF they signed is kept with it, so their signed copy still shows exactly what they agreed to. They stay marked complete.
The request then shows how many people signed an earlier PDF and names them, with a button to email each of them a link to sign the current one. On their link they see that the document has been replaced, and Sign again lets them sign the new PDF. Their earlier signature stays on record in the response history.
Removing the PDF works the same way: existing signatures and their PDFs are kept, and nobody can sign until you upload a PDF again.
In a request pack
A Sign PDF request can go in a request pack. Pick the PDF from your Files library in the pack. When you add the pack to an event or Portal, 1pm copies the PDF onto that event, so editing the library file afterwards never changes a document someone is signing.
Is it a real signature?
Yes, for the documents 1pm is used for. The typed name, the tick, the recorded time and the fingerprinted PDF together make an electronic signature under the laws of most countries. See Electronic signatures and accepting terms for the detail and the few document types that still need wet ink.