Electronic signatures have quickly become a cornerstone of commerce through the combination of convenience and digital reliance. But with convenience comes responsibility, and how do you verify that an e-signature is genuine, secure and legally binding?
Whether you're a legal professional, regulated business or simply onboarding customers, understanding how to verify an electronic signature is critical to ensuring trust, compliance, and enforceability.
Electronic signature validation and why its integral to trust, proof and compliance
Electronic signatures are legally recognised forms of agreement, governed by laws such as the eIDAS regulation in the EU and UK, and the Electronic Communications Act. However, not every e-signature is the same. For an e-signature to stand up in court or regulatory scrutiny, it must be verified through secure, evidence-based methods.
This is where electronic signature verification comes in to ensure that the person signing is who they say they are, the document hasn’t been tampered with after signing and the signature was given willingly and with informed consent. In regulated sectors like financial services and property, this is critical.
Step-by-step - how to verify an electronic signature
Verifying an electronic signature requires a structured process that ensures the signatory’s identity and the integrity of the document. Let’s break down the key steps to help you verify e-signatures with confidence.
Confirm the signatory’s identity
Identity verification is the foundation of a verified signature. Look for solutions that require robust checks such as biometric verification (e.g. facial recognition against ID documents) and two-factor authentication (2FA), like an OTP (One-Time Password) sent to the signatory’s mobile. This ensures the signatory is authenticated before they even access the document.
Verify the integrity of the signed document
Electronic signatures must be tamper-evident. This means any changes to the document after signing should invalidate the signature. You can verify document integrity by checking digital certificates or hash values and using platforms that seal the document once signed. Additionally, requesting an audit trail or metadata file that records every action taken (e.g. time, IP address, authentication method) is another way of ensuring integrity.
Use a trusted signing platform
The most efficient way to verify an e-signature is through a qualified e-signature platform that handles identity verification, consent, signing and evidence capture in one process.
These platforms go further by integrating identity verification into the signing journey, recording each step in a legally defensible audit trail and ensuring compliance with regulatory guidance like the HM Land Registry's PG82.
Check the audit trail
A complete audit trail is your best proof point. It directly supports legal enforceability but also gives your compliance team peace of mind. This trail should include a few key areas.
- Who signed and when
- How they were verified
- Any witnesses present (required in certain legal scenarios such as deeds)
- IP addresses, device types, and consent timestamps
Ensure witnessing
Some documents, such as deeds submitted to HM Land Registry, require physical witnessing even with electronic signatures. To verify this you need to confirm the presence of the witness, record their identity (via OTP or ID check) and include their role in the audit trail. An end-to-end platform enables OTP-authenticated witnessing, simplifying PG82 compliance while maintaining legal validity.
How to verify electronic signatures securely and what to avoid
Electronic signatures have quickly become almost necessary for modern legal and financial transactions, but not all solutions are created equal. To protect your organisation and ensure documents stand up to scrutiny, it’s crucial to understand which technologies make verification truly robust. An end-to-end onboarding platform combines multiple layers of protection to strengthen trust and compliance.
- Thorough e-signature checks and support: These platforms ensure that every signature is tied to a verified identity using secure methods such as biometric checks, multi-factor authentication and real-time ID verification. This greatly reduces the risk of fraud or impersonation with signatures like Advanced Electronic Signatures (AES).
- Cryptographic hashing and digital certificates: Each document is encrypted and sealed with a digital certificate, making any tampering immediately detectable.
- Automated audit trails: An end-to-end platform automatically records a detailed, time-stamped log of every action in the signing process. This built-in evidence pack provides a defensible record if you ever need to prove who signed, when and under what conditions.
Robust technology is essential, but poor practice can still leave you exposed. Avoid relying on basic e-signatures that use only email links and lack proper identity checks as these are easy to fake and hard to defend legally. Similarly, using separate tools for identity checks, signing and compliance creates gaps that increase risk.
For secure, compliant electronic signatures, choose an integrated platform like Bonafidee. By handling identity verification, secure signing, audit trails and compliance evidence all in one place, Bonafidee helps you prove authenticity and protect your organisation from disputes.
Simplify your verification process with Bonafidee
E-signature verification is a safeguard that underpins trust, legal enforceability and compliance in today’s digital world. From confirming a signatory’s identity and checking document integrity to ensuring the presence of witnesses where required, each layer of verification strengthens your protection against fraud and disputes.
By following a structured verification process and using robust technology, you can ensure every signature holds up to legal and regulatory scrutiny. For a deeper look at how to put these principles into practice and streamline your verification journey, explore our detailed guide below.
