Sign a PDF Document Online

The terms are often used interchangeably but they describe meaningfully different things, and the distinction matters for legal and security purposes.

An electronic signature is any electronic indication of intent to sign — a typed name, a drawn signature image, a scanned signature photo, or even a checkbox. Electronic signatures are legally valid in most countries for most document types under laws including the EU's eIDAS regulation, the US ESIGN Act, and the UK's Electronic Communications Act. They're fast, flexible, and require no special software or certificates. PDF99's upcoming sign tool will provide electronic signatures.

A digital signature is a cryptographic construct — a mathematical proof that a specific certificate holder signed the document and that the document hasn't been modified since signing. Digital signatures require a digital certificate issued by a trusted Certificate Authority. They're used for highly regulated contexts: tax filings, court documents in some jurisdictions, pharmaceutical regulatory submissions, and enterprise contract workflows. They're more complex to set up but provide a verifiable audit trail that electronic signatures don't.

For the vast majority of business documents — contracts, agreements, letters of intent, HR documents — an electronic signature is legally sufficient and practically appropriate. Digital signatures are necessary only in specific regulated contexts, and your organisation or legal counsel will typically tell you explicitly when one is required.

In most situations, yes. Electronic signatures have been legally recognised in most jurisdictions for over two decades. The key legal frameworks are: the US ESIGN Act and UETA (2000), the EU eIDAS Regulation (2016), the UK Electronic Communications Act, and equivalent legislation in Canada, Australia, India, Singapore, and most other major economies.

Under these laws, a signature cannot be denied legal effect solely because it's electronic. Courts have consistently upheld electronically signed contracts, and major industries including real estate, banking, insurance, and healthcare routinely use electronic signatures for binding agreements.

There are exceptions. Some documents require handwritten signatures by law in certain jurisdictions — wills, court documents, and some government forms are the most common examples. Your local legal requirements govern these cases, and it's worth checking with a solicitor or lawyer if you're unsure whether electronic signature is acceptable for a specific document type in your jurisdiction.

For practical business use — employment contracts, client agreements, purchase orders, NDAs, and routine commercial contracts — electronic signatures are legally equivalent to handwritten ones in virtually every jurisdiction where your business operates.