User Guide Cancel

Get a written signature

Last updated on May 8, 2023

Welcome to Adobe Acrobat Sign for Government
Configure Acrobat Sign
1. Configuration Overview
2. System requirements
3. Branding
4. User access to features
5. User experience within the application
6. Recipient experience when interacting with agreements
7. Transaction security
8. Compliance information
  1. GDPR
  2. HIPAA
  3. eVaulting Chattle paper
  4. IVES
Administrator processes
1. Admin guide overview
2. Users
  1. Manage users in the Gov CloudCreating users
  2. Add users to a group
  3. Remove a user from group membership
  4. Update users in bulk
  5. Users in Multiple Groups (UMG)
    1. Overview
    2. Differences in UMG enabled accounts
3. Groups
4. Templates
  1. Edit shared templates
  2. Transfer template ownership
5. Custom workflow designer
  1. Create a custom workflow
6. GDPR deletion processes
  1. Delete a user
  2. Delete agreements
7. Sandbox
User environment and processes
1. Support resources
2. Transaction limits
3. Page layouts
4. Configure your profile
5. Send agreements
  1. Compose an agreement to send for signature
  2. Recipient signing order
  3. Written signatures
  4. Send an agreement to yourself only
  5. Send in Bulk
  6. Sending from a template on the Manage page
  7. Sign agreements
  8. Fill and Sign a document
  9. Self Signing
  10. Signing a document from an email link
  11. Sign a document from the Manage page
6. Custom workflow designer
7. Manage agreements
8. Reporting
  1. Create a report with classic reporting
  2. Report charts and data exports
    1. Overview
    2. User permissions for report charts and exports
  3. Data Exports
  4. Report Charts
9. API
  1. API Swagger documentation
  2. Webhooks

Overview

Obtaining a physical signature is sometimes required. It could be for legal or compliance requirements, policy positions, or simply because one or both parties are more comfortable with signatures in a physical format.

The Adobe Acrobat Sign written signature workflow supports obtaining physical signatures while ensuring proper access control, maintaining the quality and clarity of the final document, and leveraging the benefits of electronic processing and auditing.

Sending an agreement for written signatures

Sending an agreement to collect a physically written signature only requires that the sender select the Written option in the Signature Type section of the Options panel.

Note that this option is only visible when both Electronic and Written signature types are enabled for the group. Otherwise, the enabled signature type is used, and the option to select one is hidden from view.

Administrators of the account or group can set the default value to Written if the dominant signature type is anticipated to be in written form. (See Configuration Options)

Agreements sent with a Written signature type require all recipients to sign in a written format.

Note:

There is no option for the sender to convert the agreement to an electronic signature workflow after the agreement is sent. Nor is there an option for the recipient to convert their signature to an electronic signature type.

The written signature experience for signers

For recipients, the Written signature workflow closely resembles the Electronic workflow up to the point that they have to print off the document to apply their signature:

The recipient is notified via email with an Open and print link to the document.
When the link is selected, the recipient is presented first with a three-step summary of the signature process:

The recipient can fill in any form fields that are requested/required on the agreement in the electronic experience.
When ready, the recipient clicks the Next button at the bottom of the page to advance to the download, print, and sign instructions:

The recipient clicks the Download button to download the document (complete with any field content entered electronically).
The recipient opens and prints the downloaded PDF.
The recipient physically signs the printed agreement.
The signed agreement then must be scanned back into digital form.
- Acrobat Sign accepts the file back in any normally accepted format (PDF, JPG, GIF, TIF, BMP).
- Acrobat Sign only accepts one file. If there are multiple images, they must be concatenated into one file.
A new email is sent to the recipient requesting they upload the signed document (email subject: Please upload {Agreement Name}). A link is provided to open the Upload to submit interface.
- Recipients can also click the link in the original Open and print email to open the Upload interface:

Clicking the Upload to submit button opens a browsing window for the recipient to find and select the signed agreement file on the local system.
Once the file is selected, the file uploads to Acrobat Sign and the recipient is done.
If there are subsequent recipients, the agreement progresses to the next. Otherwise, the agreement completes.

Allowing recipients to Convert their signature from the Electronic to the Written signature type

Customers that do not require an electronic signature type, and would like to overcome any customer skepticism of the electronic format, can permit recipients to convert the signature type from electronic to the written style.

When this conversion is enabled, recipients see an option to Print, sign and upload in the Options menu on the e-sign page.

Option menu to convert to a written signature

Caution:

Note that in multi-recipient agreements, once a recipient converts their signature type to the written style, all form fields in the agreement will be removed. Subsequent signers will not have form fields to populate, except their signature fields which populate at the bottom of the page as a signature block field.

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