Certificate of completion

Section one: the envelope

Seven rows. The envelope identifier in a monospaced face so it can be quoted accurately. The moment it was sent and the moment it completed, both to the second in UTC. How many signers there were. The certification applied, named as an algorithm rather than a vague claim of security. Then two hashes: the document as it was sent, and the document once every signature had been stamped into it. Those two figures are what let somebody else check the file they hold is the file described here.

Section two: a block per signer

Each signer gets their name and address on a shaded band, then six indented rows. How they were verified, written out as email link, email link plus access code, or email link plus emailed one-time code. When they signed. Their IP address, or not recorded if none was captured. When they accepted the consent and which version of it. The hash of the document at the instant they signed, which is not the same as the final hash when several people signed in turn. And the hash of their signature image.

Section three: the event log

The whole audit trail printed as a table with four columns: sequence number, the timestamp in UTC, the event in plain words, and the email of whichever signer it belongs to. Rows alternate shading and continue across pages, and a continuation page redraws the column headers rather than leaving a stack of unlabelled numbers. Pages carry a footer reading Certificate of completion with page x of y at the other end.

When it is built, and why the order matters

It is built after the last signature is stamped and before the document is certified, using the hash of the fully stamped file. That sequence is not arbitrary. Certification at document modification level one forbids anything being appended afterwards, so if the certificate is going to live inside the signed PDF it has to be added first. Getting that order wrong would produce a file that readers report as altered.

Inside the document, or beside it

By default the signed PDF stays clean and the certificate is a separate download, which suits an agreement that will be printed or forwarded. A checkbox in the prepare panel, Include certificate of completion in the signed PDF, appends its pages to the end instead, so the evidence travels with the document. Either way it is also written as its own file and offered as its own button on the status page.

How it works, in three steps

1. Step 1

   Decide before sending whether it goes inside

   The checkbox sits under the Sign in order switch on the prepare panel, and is off by default.

2. Step 2

   Wait for everyone to finish

   The certificate is built from the completed event log, so it does not exist until the last signature has landed.

3. Step 3

   Download it from the envelope

   A Certificate button appears next to Signed document on the status page once the envelope is complete.

Limits worth knowing

• It only exists once every signer has finished. A declined or expired envelope never produces one.
• The layout and wording are fixed. There is no branding, logo or custom text.
• It records IP addresses but not geolocation, device names or anything derived from them.
• The whole event log is printed, so an envelope that was chased many times produces a longer certificate.

Questions people ask

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