Glossary
E-Signature Glossary
Canonical definitions for every key term - from Advanced Electronic Signature to Wet Signature.
A
- Advanced Electronic Signature
A middle-tier signature that is uniquely tied to one person and can flag if the document was tampered with.
- Audit Trail
A behind-the-scenes log recording who did what to a document and when.
C
- Certificate Authority
A trusted organization that issues digital ID certificates and can cancel them.
- Clickwrap agreement
An online contract you accept by actively clicking or ticking an "I agree" box before you can continue.
- Counterparty
The other side of your deal, the party you are contracting with.
D
- Digital Signature
A high-security type of electronic signature built on cryptography, which proves who signed and confirms the document was not changed afterward.
- DocuSign envelope
DocuSign's container that holds the documents, recipients, and signature fields for a single signing.
E
- ESIGN Act
The US federal law that made electronic signatures legally valid nationwide.
- Electronic Signature
Any electronic mark that shows you agreed to something, from a typed name to a clicked "I agree" box.
- eIDAS
Europe's regulation setting the rules for electronic signatures and digital identity across all EU countries.
H
- Hash Function
A math process that turns any document into a short, fixed-length string of characters, like a digital fingerprint.
N
- Non-repudiation
Assurance that a signer cannot credibly deny having signed later on.
- Notarized
Describes a document that a notary has formally checked and certified, usually by confirming the signer's identity and witnessing the signature.
- Notary
An official authorised to witness signatures and certify documents so they can be trusted by others.
P
- Public key infrastructure (PKI)
The underlying system of digital keys and certificates that makes digital signatures trustworthy.
Q
- Qualified Electronic Signature (QES)
The strongest signature tier in Europe, carrying the same legal weight as a handwritten signature.
S
- Signatory
The person or organization who actually signs a document.
- Simple electronic signature (SES)
The most basic signature level, such as a typed name or a checked box, with no identity verification behind it.
T
- Timestamp
A trustworthy record of the exact date and time a document was signed.
U
- UETA
A model US state law from 1999 that gives electronic records and signatures the same standing as paper ones.
W
- Wet Ink Signature
Another name for a wet signature, stressing the physical ink on paper.
- Wet Signature
The traditional kind of signature, made by hand with a pen on paper.
