Gathering signatures is one of the most important tasks a business can undertake, given the approvals and oversight they often represent. Signatures represent a binding power, from finalizing a contract with another business partner to securing a non-disclosure agreement from staff working on a sensitive project. They have also typically remained one of the most common causes of bottlenecks in document workflows.

Today, digital signatures and signing services allow us to avoid the pitfalls of wet-ink signatures. However, how can you be sure that a digitally-signed document has not been altered since it was signed?

Verifying document integrity is an essential process that provides absolute certainty over the trustworthiness and originality of a document. With Tungsten Power PDF, users can quickly confirm document integrity or uncover potential concerns when validating an e-signature.

Validating an E-Signature in just 4 steps with Power PDF

If you've received a digital document that has one or multiple electronic signatures embedded into the file, it's clear that you should do more than accept them all at face value.

With advanced tools such as Power PDF, ensuring that no one has tampered with the document and that the signatures are truly legitimate takes no time at all. Here's how to quickly confirm PDF document integrity by examining signatures:

1. Locate the signed document on your PC or Mac and open it in Power PDF.
2. Find the signature area on the document. Command-click or right-click on the signature itself.
3. In the menu, find and select "Verify Signature."
4. Power PDF examines the certificate and document history and displays a confirmation that says "Signature Valid" if the document is unaltered and as signed originally.

Related video: Validate Digital Signature

Power PDF also offers streamlined opportunities to verify document integrity by running an automated check on any file with a digital signature you open. On both Windows PCs and Macs, Power PDF will check a range of critical attributes, such as:

• The content of the document to ensure its digital attributes indicate it hasn't been altered since signing.
• A valid expiration date for the signing certificate.
• A valid chain of trust certificate.
• An accepted certificated for signing.

After analyzing these factors, Power PDF displays a notification to let you know if the document passes validation, receives a conditional pass due to a potentially untrusted certificate, or fails to validate for any reason.

If the document was signed using a self-signed certificate, consider contacting the document author directly to follow up on the validity of the signature. Using the signature context menu, you can click "Verify Identify" to see if any contact information was associated with the signature upon application.

Use secure PDF features and enjoy smoother workflows

At a time when document security is more important than ever, the confidence that accompanies simple methods for document validation is invaluable. With Power PDF, you can also enjoy other advanced security-related features, including document passwords, permission restrictions and more.

See for yourself how quickly you can validate signatures and capably manage document security in sensitive settings using Power PDF. Download a free 15-day trial now.