“I signed the PDF” — but what is it worth?
You placed your initials on a contract and sent the file back. In your mind, the document is signed. Technically, two very different things may hide behind that sentence: a visual signature — an image laid on the page — or an electronic signature in the sense of the European eIDAS regulation, which relies on cryptography and a certificate. They look alike on screen; they don’t prove the same thing.
XP-Pen StarG640 — drawing tabletHandwritten signature on a budget: USB plug-in, minimal setup.affiliate
The three levels of the eIDAS regulation
The eIDAS regulation governs digital trust in the European Union. France’s cybersecurity agency (ANSSI) breaks it down into three levels of electronic signature, from lightest to most probative:
- Simple electronic signature: any electronic data attached to a document to mark its acceptance. A name typed at the bottom of an email, a checked “I agree” box, a pasted signature image: all of these qualify. eIDAS states that a signature cannot be denied all legal effect merely because it is electronic — but on its own it provides neither verified identity nor an integrity guarantee.
- Advanced electronic signature: it must be uniquely linked to the signer, allow their identification, be created by means kept under their sole control, and make any later modification of the document detectable. In practice, this involves a cryptographic digest of the file and a certificate.
- Qualified electronic signature: an advanced signature created by a qualified device (a hardware key or a certified service) and based on a qualified certificate issued by an accredited trust service provider. It is the only level to which the regulation attaches a presumption of equivalence with a handwritten signature.
Outside the European Union, other regimes play a comparable role: in the United States, the ESIGN Act and the UETA give electronic signatures legal effect, without defining an equivalent three-level hierarchy.
Two ideas run through these levels: identity (who signed, verified by a trusted third party) and integrity (the document has not changed since signing, verifiable by cryptographic computation).
What a visual signature is
A visual signature is a drawing of a signature placed on a page: a photo of your initials, a mouse-drawn stroke, a styled name. It becomes graphic content of the PDF — just like an annotation or an “APPROVED” stamp. It materializes your intent to sign, and that is often what your counterpart expects.
But it contains neither a certificate nor a digest of the document. Nothing ties the image to your identity, nothing reveals a modification of the PDF after it was placed, and anyone can copy the image and paste it onto another file.
What Document Flare’s tool does
Document Flare’s signing tool places a visual signature, and says so clearly. Three modes are offered in the editor: freehand drawing, importing a PNG or JPEG image, or a typed name rendered in a cursive font. On export, the signature is flattened into the page rendering: it becomes part of the graphic content.
There is no identity verification and no cryptographic digest: this is not an electronic signature in the eIDAS sense. The tool’s value is elsewhere — everything happens in your browser, the document never leaves your device, and no account is required. For the complete how-to, see the tutorial on signing a PDF locally.
When a visual signature is enough — and when it isn’t
A visual signature is generally fine for marking an informal or routine agreement: initialing a quote between partners who know each other, signing a parental authorization, endorsing an internal document, returning a form that asks for “a signature” with no further detail. Much everyday administrative exchange works this way.
Switch to a real electronic signature whenever probative force matters: a commercially sensitive contract, a regulated instrument that explicitly requires one, remote signing with a party you don’t know, or a document whose integrity you may need to demonstrate months later. In those cases, turn to a qualified trust service provider — common options include DocuSign, Yousign or Universign — which verifies the signer’s identity and cryptographically timestamps the file.
What about eIDAS 2.0 and the European Digital Identity Wallet?
Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 — eIDAS 2.0, in force since May 2024 — adds a new piece to the framework: the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet). Each Member State must make at least one wallet available by the end of 2026. It will let users prove their identity and present attestations (driving licence, diplomas) to public and private services — and create qualified electronic signatures, free of charge for natural persons for non-professional purposes.
None of this requalifies a visual signature: an image laid on a page remains graphic content, wallet or not. What eIDAS 2.0 does is narrow the practical gap — qualified signatures will be reachable from a mobile app rather than reserved to dedicated devices. The reflex stays the same: routine use, visual signature; probative force, a qualified trust service provider — tomorrow possibly backed by the EUDI wallet.
Further reading
- Sign a PDF locally: the step-by-step tutorial for placing a visual signature.
- Password-protecting a PDF: restricting access to the file — a complementary protection, not a signature.
- GDPR and local PDF processing: why keeping the document on your device reduces data transfers.
To sign freehand?
XP-Pen StarG640 — drawing tabletHandwritten signature on a budget: USB plug-in, minimal setup.affiliate
Wacom One Small — drawing tabletThe Wacom reference in a small size: smooth for signing and annotating.affiliate
