How can I sign a digital document without needing to print it?

OpenOffice(freeware) drawing program can be used to edit pdf files, but I believe-I'm not sure-you have to download a plug-in. It isn't very sophisticated,but it would be enough for this type of work.

Digital signatures will be the signatures of the near future. Using programs like GPG and PGP you can create a password protected digital signature which can be registered and thus you and only you can sign it with your digital signature. I think that will solve the problem of signing documents sent by email and posted on-line. Check out Leo's article about that. We just have to wait till people adopt it more widely. I get digitally signed receipts from my cell phone company here in Germany.

The advantage to the sender of using a scanned image of your signature and pasting it in multiple documents over time is that it gives you plausible deniability of its authenticity.

You can always confirm its authenticity on any documents you so choose.

The risk is to those accepting a faxed/scanned/emailed signed document as authentic. They could have a large hurdle to prove it was you who sent it and it was not altered by a third party after transmission.

You can actually sign a PDF form by using your mouse or a graphics tableT.
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_tablet

Here is a video howto for signing PDF form:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dygu0mUMX0s

All of the discussion above (including Leo's response!) misses the very simple answer -- you can use Adobe Acrobat to digitally sign a PDF. It's a very simple process, nothing special, no fancy keys needed. You can chose to include a scanned signature if you want to, but it's not necessary. The real point of the digital signature is to verify that the document hasn't been changed since you signed it. After you digitally sign it, any change whatsoever to the PDF causes the digital signature to indicate that the document's been been changed. The process works very well. I've been using it for 7+ years, starting with Acrobat 6. I haven't physically signed or faxed a PDF contract in all of that time. The legality of a digital signature (in the Acrobat sense) was established during the early-to-mid 1990s, so it's trouble-free.

Leo wrote:

I've always been under the impression that for many transactions a FAXed signature is as binding as the original.

That scares me.

Because everything we've done above to "sign" a document and send it along above with a copy of your own signature could be done using someone else's signature.

With a standard "IANAL, BUT..." disclaimer, I add:

Don't be so silly, Leo! That would be forgery, which the true owner of the signature could legally disclaim.

It would also net the forger some very hefty jail time!

I'm not saying that the true owner might not win - but that will require forensics to determined the forgery, legal involvement and perhaps even legal proceedings. I'm still scared, since that's very painful, even if I win.

17-Nov-2009

You can use a program like Zosh for the iPhone which let's you sign and return a document all from your phone. It's pretty cool actually. You forward the PDF document to the Zosh secure server. Then load it up on the iPhone in the Zosh app. Then use your finger to sign. You can move, resize and even rotate the signature to get it exactly where it needs to be. Then just email it back to yourself, or where ever it needs to go. It comes out as a standard PDF with your signature in it. You can also add text, dates, etc.. Zosh is $2.99 in the App Store on iTunes.

Yes. This is where an e signature system comes in handy. You don't need to print out the documents. Rather, the transaction will be done on the cloud. If you give your clients the option to authenticate the documents you need online, there’s no hassle as you save on time and the need for a ton of paper. Your business then becomes customer and environment friendly.

I'd love to know if this technology is accepted in court. The courts are generally lagging - and of course it varys from country to country. I'd want to make absolutely sure that any digital signature was accepted as legal before doing this.

13-Dec-2010

I have always used a graphic tablet in the past, but it's a bit of a waste if you're only getting it for this purpose, and on top of that, for some people, it just doesn't feel right compared to holding a pen in their hand.

Scanning all the way in this case.