What to Look For With E-signatures

Is your business like mine and you have agreements or other documents that need signatures? With paperwork needing to be signed, and not usually seeing our clients in person, I’ve used an e-signature software for a while.

Electronic Signatures have been around for years and utilized by many industries, but it has become more important as of late because of the impact of the pandemic. But how do you make sure that the document signed is not altered and the correct person has signed it? When reviewing these signatures, you need to ask yourself six questions:

1.       Who signed the document? (Signer Authentication)

2.       Did they mean to? (Affirmative Act)

3.       Has the information been properly disclosed and consented to? (Compliance)

4.       Has the document changed in any way? (Document Authentication)

5.       Is this document available to all who needs to sign? (Access)

6.       How can this all be proven? (Evidence)

Whatever means you use to provide or receive electronic signatures need to meet the above criteria. The best way to provide proof is to use a program that instantly provides an audit trail, and most importantly one that cannot be edited in any way.

If you want additional security and further proof of your compliance, choose a program that requires authentication. There are a few ways to do so: Knowledge based authentication or a one-time passcode. There are third party companies that, based from the identifiers of the person signing, generate a set of questions to be answered. One Time Passcode Authentication generates a code that can be sent to a phone number or email provided.

Most signature platforms already comply to the listed criteria, but it is also important that you research what additional policies your industry needs you to uphold to comply completely and provide the proper audit trail.

If you have any questions about which software is necessary for your specific business, contact your business attorney or IT professional for advice. If you don’t have someone to help you, touch base with me at 310-534-5577 or contact@abandp.com, and I’ll give you contact information for those I know and trust.