When Can’t You Use a Digital Signature?
Jun 07, 2024
5 mins
In the world of secure online transactions, digital signatures are the best way to authenticate digital documents. That said, like everything else, they also have their limitations.
While digital signatures are a great solution for verifying signer identity and ensuring document integrity, certain situations, legal frameworks, technical constraints, and user-related factors can make them ineffective or inappropriate. Here are the most common cases in which you can't use a digital signature.
1. Lack of digital infrastructure
Digital signatures rely on computers and internet connectivity. If your client has limited access to either of the two, using digital signatures can be impractical or downright impossible.
Without the right tech and a reliable internet connection, signing documents electronically just isn’t feasible. In these cases, you might need to get things done the traditional way.
2. User limitations
Even with all the right tools in place, a lack of digital literacy can undermine the effectiveness of digital signatures . Without understanding how digital signatures work, your clients might struggle to apply them correctly. This can lead to all kinds of issues, from signing the wrong part of a document to not completing the process at all.
Mistakes often happen when users aren't familiar with the necessary steps for signing a digital document. For example, they might not know how to access or install the required software, or might be unclear on how to use their digital certificate.
In addition to that, misconceptions, like thinking a simple scanned signature is the same as a digital one, can lead users to make mistakes. This can result in the invalidation of signed documents, which can land you in hot water later.
3. Regulatory restrictions
While many countries have established laws and frameworks to support the use of digital signatures. In the European Union, the eIDAS regulation gives them the same legal standing as handwritten ones for many purposes. Similarly, the E-SIGN Act in the United States grants electronic signatures the same legal weight as their physical counterparts in most commercial and consumer transactions.
Noticed how it says "many purposes" and "most transactions"? That's because specific types of transactions might still require physical signatures. This is often the case with official government documents and other formal agreements where the stakes are very high and the risk of fraud or misunderstanding needs to be minimized.
Good general business and family lawyers recommend that certain legal documents, such as wills, trusts, and other estate planning instruments, often require handwritten signatures. Contracts and agreements that require notarization also often fall into the handwritten category. Digital signatures may not always meet the legal requirements for notarization, especially in jurisdictions where notarization practices rely on physical presence.
Various other documents, such as adoption papers, marriage certificates, and documents requiring an apostille, may require physical signatures due to their sensitive nature. Since this regulation often depends on local authorities, it's best to check what the legislation says before you enter any transactions.
Learn more about digital signatures
4. Technical limitations
While formats like PDFs and .docx files are commonly used, they're not the most user-friendly things to sign. Both of these formats involve complex workflows for adding signatures, including steps like downloading the document, applying the signature with compatible software, and then re-uploading the signed file.
Besides being time-consuming, users can easily make a mistake if they're not careful. The hassle of navigating menus, understanding software requirements, and managing digital certificates is nobody's idea of fun.
Don't think it's such a huge issue? Take a look at what it takes to sign a PDF and a Word document, and you'll see why most companies choose software with built-in digital signatures instead.
5. Non-consent
Last, but not least, both European and US legislation on digital signatures agree on one thing: mutual consent. In other words, for a document to be considered valid, both parties must consent to the use of digital signatures. If your client doesn't consent for whatever reason, you'll have to adapt and accommodate traditional signing methods.
Final thoughts
While you can't influence your client's digital infrastructure and regulatory restrictions, all other problems on this list can be easily solved. If your client is feeling anxious about the process of signing documents digitally, in most cases all it takes is giving them a user-friendly way of doing it.
Better Proposals comes with built-in, legally binding digital signatures that your clients can use with no hassle. All they need to have is an internet connection - no third-party certificates, software installations or steep learning curves involved.
Paper cuts and ink smudges? No, thanks.
Sign up for Better Proposals and start collecting legally binding digital signatures. Your clients will love you for it.