Reference
E-signature glossary
The terms you meet when choosing, using or challenging an electronic signature, in plain English.
By the Pactivo team · Updated
- Advanced electronic signature (AES)
- An electronic signature that is uniquely linked to and capable of identifying the signer, created with data under the signer's sole control, and linked to the document so any later change is detectable (UK eIDAS, Article 26). Usually involves verifying the signer's identity. SES, AES and QES compared
- Audit trail
- The time-stamped record of everything that happened to a document sent for signature: sent, opened, identity or passcode checks, signed, completed. Its value as evidence depends on whether it can be altered afterwards.
- Checksum (SHA-256)
- A fingerprint calculated from every byte of a file. SHA-256 produces a 64-character value; changing anything in the file changes the value completely, so matching checksums mean identical files. Check a file's checksum
- Electronic seal
- The organisation's equivalent of an electronic signature: data attached to a document by a legal person (a company rather than an individual) to show where it came from and that it has not changed.
- Electronic signature
- Data in electronic form attached to or logically associated with other data, which the signer uses to sign (UK eIDAS). A typed name, a drawn signature or a click on 'Sign' can all be electronic signatures. Are e-signatures legal in the UK?
- Envelope
- One or more documents sent together to one or more signers, with the settings for how they sign. Pactivo prices per envelope.
- Hash chain
- A sequence of records where each one stores a hash covering its own contents and the previous record's hash. Changing, removing or reordering any record breaks every link after it, which makes tampering visible.
- One-time passcode (OTP)
- A short code sent to the signer, for example by email, that they must enter before the document opens. It shows the person signing controls that email address.
- PAdES
- PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures: the standard (ETSI EN 319 142) for embedding digital signatures inside a PDF. PDF readers check a PAdES signature when the file opens and show whether the document has been modified since it was signed.
- Qualified electronic signature (QES)
- An advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate from a qualified trust service provider and created with a qualified signature creation device. The only type that automatically has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature.
- Qualified trust service provider (QTSP)
- A provider that a supervisory body has approved to issue qualified certificates and other qualified trust services. Since Brexit, the UK and the EU keep separate lists.
- RFC 3161 timestamp
- A timestamp issued by an independent timestamp authority under the RFC 3161 standard: it signs a document's fingerprint together with the time, proving the document existed in exactly that form at that moment.
- Simple electronic signature (SES)
- The basic level of electronic signature under UK eIDAS. Legally valid for most business documents; its strength as evidence depends on how the signer was checked and how the record is kept.
- UK eIDAS
- The UK's retained version of EU Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services. It defines simple, advanced and qualified electronic signatures and says an electronic signature cannot be denied legal effect just because it is electronic.
- Verification code
- The code printed on a Pactivo evidence certificate and in the completion email. Anyone holding it can open the document's public verification page, without an account. Verify a document
This page explains the general position in plain English. It is not legal advice; for a decision about a specific document, take advice from a solicitor.