Document security — seals and locking

Signi protects documents with electronic seals, so it can be proven at any time that the document was not altered during the signing process.

How the security works

1. Initial seal — the document receives a seal as soon as it is uploaded into Signi. It confirms the form in which it entered the signing process.
2. Signatures — each signer adds their signature to the same document.
3. Final sealing — once completed (the completed status), Signi seals the document and adds a timestamp. By default, the document is also locked against further changes (this can be controlled in settings using the lock_after_seal parameter).

The seal confirms the authorship of the document — unlike a signature, which is a legal act:

What breaks the seal

The initial seal only fits the document in the exact form in which it was uploaded. Anything that subsequently changes the document invalidates it — typically the signature sheet: a page that Signi appends to the end of the document for signatures without a defined position. That is why we recommend always defining the position of signatures in the document and avoiding the signature sheet.

Where to go next

• Where to place signatures in a document
• Document lifecycle