Signing example
Offer letter e-signature
An offer letter e-signature works best as a two signer envelope: the candidate accepts first, the employer countersigns second, and the acceptance date records itself. This page shows the Data Analyst offer from the documents examples signed exactly that way, with the candidate choosing a typed signature instead of a drawn one.
The document itself is written out in full on its own page: read the wording there. This page is only about signing it.
Who signs what
- Elliot Nakamura, the candidate, signs first
- Signature in the Accepted by Elliot Nakamura block on page 4 · Name, filled from his recipient row · Date accepted, stamped at submission · Verified by emailed one-time code
- Simone Achterberg, Head of Insights, signs for Fernhill Analytics Pty Ltd
- Signature in the Signed for Fernhill Analytics block on page 4 · Name, filled from her recipient row · Position, typed by her · Date countersigned, stamped at submission · Email link
The signing journey
Step 1
HR sends the letter with order on
The four page offer is uploaded as one PDF. Both blocks sit at the foot of page 4: Signed for Fernhill Analytics Pty Ltd with Name, Position and Date lines, and Accepted by Elliot Nakamura with Name and Date lines. Each side gets a signature, a name and a date field, and Simone also gets a text field on the Position line. With Sign in order on, only the candidate is invited at first, so a countersignature cannot land on an unaccepted letter.
Step 2
The candidate verifies with a code
Elliot's link opens the verification card. He asks for the six digit code, enters it, and only then sees the letter. The code expires after ten minutes and at most five codes can be issued in any ten minute window.
Step 3
He types his signature instead of drawing
The signature dialog has a draw tab and a type tab. Elliot types his name, the portal renders it in the Dancing Script face at 44 pixels, and that image is saved and hashed exactly like a drawn one. The mode is recorded as typed in the signing event.
Step 4
The date stamps itself
The date field beside his signature is never typed. It prints Sep 2, 2026 from the moment he submitted, so the acceptance date on the page and the timestamp in the certificate can never disagree.
Step 5
HR countersigns and everyone gets the letter
Simone is invited only after the acceptance lands. She signs from her own link, the listener certifies the file, and the completion email delivers the certified PDF to the candidate, the manager and the sender.
What the signed PDF and certificate show
Page 4 of the letter carries the typed signature in a cursive face above the candidate's printed name, the stamped date beside it, and the manager's drawn countersignature with its own stamped date. The certificate lists thirteen events for this envelope, from Envelope created through both Signed entries, and shows Email link + emailed one-time code against the candidate and Email link against the manager. The recorded signature type lives in the signing event's data rather than on the certificate page.
How to adapt this envelope
A fixed term contract or a promotion letter runs the same way with the same four fields. If the letter needs the candidate to acknowledge specific conditions, add checkbox fields beside each condition and mark them required, the way the policy acknowledgement example does. For a letter that lapses on a deadline, remember the envelope itself expires thirty days after creation regardless of the offer's own lapse date.
What the candidate actually experiences
One email, one code, one typed name. There is no account to create and nothing to print. On a phone the letter is read in the portal and the same type tab works with the on screen keyboard, which for most candidates is faster than drawing with a thumb.
What makes this signing flow work
The date is never typed
Both date fields print the day each person actually submitted, taken from the signing record. A candidate cannot backdate an acceptance and an HR manager cannot forget to date the countersignature, because neither of them is given a date box to type into.
HR signs second, always
Sign in order is on, so the countersignature can only ever land on a letter the candidate has already accepted. If the candidate declines instead, the manager is never bothered and the envelope simply moves to declined with the reason.
A typed signature carries the same evidence
Elliot never touched a mouse or a finger to a pad. His typed name was rendered to an image, hashed, and recorded with signature type typed in the signing event, alongside the same consent timestamp, IP address and code verification a drawn signature gets.
Questions people ask
Does the candidate need an account?
No. The emailed link plus the one-time code is the whole login. The candidate opens the link, requests the code, reads all four pages of the letter and signs on page 4. Accounts exist only on the sending side, where the envelope is prepared and tracked, so a candidate who has never heard of the service can still accept in a couple of minutes.
Is a typed signature as valid as a drawn one?
The service treats them identically. The typed name is rendered to a signature image, hashed, stored, and stamped onto the page, and the signing event records that the type mode was used. All the surrounding evidence, the code, the consent record and the IP address, is the same either way.
Can HR countersign before the candidate?
Not on this envelope. Sign in order is on, so Simone's invitation is only generated after Elliot's signature lands, even though the Fernhill block is printed above his on page 4. Turning the switch off would invite both at once, which suits documents where the sequence does not matter, but an offer should not carry a company signature before the candidate has said yes.
What if the candidate never responds?
The request expires thirty days after the envelope was created, at which point the link answers that the signing request has expired. The letter's own lapse time, 5pm Friday 4 September 2026, comes much sooner, so chase before then. The sender can press Resend, which rotates the link and sends a fresh invitation to the same address. Resend is refused once that recipient has signed or declined.
Where is the acceptance date recorded?
In three places that always agree: stamped on the page by the date field, in the Signed line of the certificate with the exact UTC time, and in the hash chained event log. None of them is typed by a person.
Does the envelope also carry the attached employment contract?
Only if you put it there. The letter asks Elliot to sign this letter and the attached contract, but one envelope holds one PDF. Either merge the letter and the nine page contract into a single PDF before upload, so one certificate covers both, or send the contract as its own envelope, the way the employment contract signing example does. Two envelopes mean two certificates and two signing sessions for the candidate.
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Want the steps in the builder? Read Send a PDF for e-signature, then Send a document for signature. For everything this generator can do, see the signing flow maker.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .