Before you start
- A finished PDF, up to 20 MB and 100 pages. Make all edits first: once the recipient signs, the content is fixed.
- The recipient's email address. Each document goes to one recipient.
- Credits. You pay per document, and a new account starts with no credits. If the document is not signed, the credits go back to your balance. See pricing for the packs.
- If you do not have a document yet, the templates give you sample documents to start from.
Upload the PDF
Sign in with your email address. SignClearly sends you a one-time sign-in link, so there is no password to remember. Create a new document and upload the PDF.
The server checks the file and computes its SHA-256 before anything else happens. That hash is a fingerprint of the original file, and it is printed on the certificate page of the signed PDF.
Place the fields
There are three kinds of field: signature, date and full name. Drag each one onto the page where it belongs and resize it with a mouse or a finger.
You do not fill in the date or the name. The server writes them at the moment of signing: the date of signing and the full name the signer gave. The signer cannot type a different date.
Choose the recipient and link duration
Enter the recipient's email address. The signing link goes there. To sign the document yourself, choose “Me” instead: you sign it in your account, and no email is sent.
Set how long the link works, from 1 to 30 days. The default is 7 days. A short window suits an offer with a deadline. A longer one suits a recipient who is away.
Add an access code (optional)
An access code protects the link if the email reaches the wrong inbox. It is 6 to 32 characters long. Share it by phone or chat, never by email: anyone who can read the recipient's mailbox would otherwise have the link and the code together.
The recipient enters the code before the document opens. After 5 wrong attempts the link is locked. After a correct code, the signing session lasts 2 hours.
Require an ID check (optional)
If you need to know who signs, require an ID check and enter the recipient's name as it appears on their ID. Before signing, the recipient shows an ID document and takes a selfie with Didit, a third-party identity service.
The name on the ID must match the name you entered: every name on the ID, in the same alphabet. Case and word order do not matter. If the names do not match, the recipient cannot sign. They get up to 3 attempts per link. SignClearly keeps the result and the name on the ID, not images of the ID.
With an ID check, the signature is an advanced electronic signature (AES). It costs more credits than a simple one.
What the recipient sees
The recipient opens the link on a phone or computer. There is no account to create and nothing to install. Then they:
- enter the access code, if you set one;
- agree to sign electronically, after reading the consent text;
- draw their signature;
- enter their full name;
- review the final PDF exactly as it will be signed;
- confirm that they intend to sign, and sign.
If you required an ID check, it comes right after the access code, and the name on the document is the one you entered and the ID confirmed.
Instead of signing, the recipient can decline, with an optional reason. The decline appears in the event log.
What you get back
When the recipient signs, you both get an email. The signature and field values sit on the original pages, and a certificate page is added at the end. It lists the sender, the signer, the SHA-256 of the original file and the event log up to the final review, with the UTC time, who acted and the IP address of each event. The audit trail guide explains how to read it.
The file the recipient reviewed is the file you get: its content does not change after they sign. The signer can download a signed copy from a link that works for 7 days.
A SignClearly platform seal covers the final file, so Adobe Acrobat and Reader can show whether it changed after signing.
The PDF also carries the signer's digital signature, made with a one-time key created in their browser.
Adobe shows the identity behind these signatures as unknown until the reader trusts the SignClearly root certificate on their computer. This guide explains why and how to fix it.
Resend, revoke or copy
- Resend the invitation if the recipient cannot find the email. Resending is free.
- Revoke the link if you sent it to the wrong address or the terms changed. The link stops working, and the event log records it.
- Make a copy of a closed document, for example one that was declined or whose link expired, to send it again.
Practical tips
- One recipient per document. If several people each need to sign the same policy or form, send each of them their own document.
- A contract that both parties must sign on the same document is not supported yet: each document has one signer. SignClearly fits documents one person signs, like the templates.
- Check the email address before you send. If the link went to the wrong person, revoke it and send a new one.
- Keep the PDF you uploaded. Its SHA-256 matches the one on the certificate page, which helps if anyone questions what was signed.