Configure how you will allow recipients to sign and initial agreements

In electronic signature workflows, how a signature is applied is generally less critical than the signer’s intent to agree. The audit log captures and supports that intent and provides the legal foundation for enforceability.

For example, recipients may type their name—or even enter a symbol or mark, like an “X”—to indicate agreement. This practice has long been accepted in both physical and digital formats. What matters is that the signer deliberately chose to apply a signature and that the action is recorded in an auditable, traceable way.

Because of this, signatures applied through typed names, image uploads, signature stamps, or copied images can still be legally valid—even though they don’t resemble traditional handwritten signatures.

Note: Some compliance regulations may require a specific type of signature, such as a digital signature. These requirements are outside the scope of this group of settings.

Signature input options

Acrobat Sign supports three ways for recipients to sign or initial, as defined by the Allow recipients to sign and initial by setting:

Typed – The recipient enters their name, and one of four available fonts is used to display the signature.
Drawn – The recipient draws their signature using a mouse, stylus, or touch screen.
Image – The recipient uploads an image of their handwritten signature.

Note:

There is a fourth signature option if the account enables Stamp workflows. A stamp can be used as a signature if explicitly enabled.

How it's used

When the settings are enabled, recipients see the available signature options in the signature panel after selecting a Signature or Initials field.

Senders don’t need to configure these options in any way.

Best practices

To reduce friction when applying signatures, keep all electronic signature types enabled—unless a compliance requirement limits their use.

Configuration

Availability:

Acrobat Standard and Acrobat Pro: Supported
Acrobat Sign Solutions: Supported
Acrobat Sign for Government: Supported

Configuration scope:

Administrators can enable this feature at the account and group levels.

Access this feature by navigating the administrator's configuration menu to Signature Preferences > Allow recipients to sign and initial by

The Signature Preferences menu with the Allowed signature types controls highlighted.

When this option is enabled, the signature panel provides the Type option for the recipient to apply their signature.

The typed signature option allows the recipient to simply type in their name, and the application applies that name string using one of four signature fonts.

The font style always starts with the first font, and applies subsequent recipient signatures in the same order (if the Dynamically choose signing font option is not enabled).

An example of the signature panel with the typed name input and the resulting signature as applied to the agreement PDF.

Dynamically choose signing font.

Acrobat Sign applies signature fonts in a fixed sequence, similar to an ordered list—starting with Font1 and progressing to Font4. The order is always the same: Font2 follows Font1, Font3 follows Font2, and so on.

When the Dynamically choose signing font option is enabled, it doesn't randomly select the font for each recipient. Instead, it randomly selects the starting point in the font sequence. After choosing the initial font, the system cycles through the fonts in order.

For example, if the dynamic setting starts with Font3, the following signature will use Font4, then Font1, and so on.

The illustration below shows a non-dynamic example with eight signatures. The sequence follows two complete cycles through the font set.

List of signature fonts identifying the four fonts available (in static mode).

The example below shows how fonts are applied when Dynamically choose signing font is enabled. In this case, the randomized starting point is Font4, but it could have started with any of the available fonts, including Font1. Once the starting font is chosen, the remaining signatures follow the standard sequence. In this case, Font4 is the starting font, and Font1 is the second recipient.

List of signature fonts identifying the four fonts available (in dynamic mode).

Enabling the option to Draw a handwritten signature and initials on the screen adds the Draw icon to the signature panel.

This allows recipients to use a mouse, stylus, or finger to draw their signature—providing one of the closest representations of their actual handwriting, especially on touch-enabled devices.

Because drawing with a mouse or trackpad can be difficult, it's a good idea to enable an additional signature type to ensure all recipients can complete the signing process smoothly.

An example of the signature panel with the drawn name input and the resulting signature as applied to the agreement PDF.

Note:

Because a drawn signature is treated as an image, no name text is automatically captured. The recipient must manually enter their name in the field at the bottom-left of the signature panel. This name is used in the audit report to represent the signer.

If the recipient's name is included during the compose process, that name will appear as the default in the name field within the signature panel.

When the Upload an image of their signature and initials option is enabled, the Image icon appears in the signature panel.

This option is ideal for recipients who sign documents frequently and want to reuse a scanned version of their signature saved as a standard image format, such as JPG or PNG.

Like drawn signatures, image uploads provide a high-quality representation of the recipient’s signature. When signing, recipients can select the Image icon and upload the file directly from their device.

An example of the signature panel with the uploaded signature image and the resulting signature as applied to the agreement PDF.

Note:

Image signatures don't include the signature line chrome that a "well-formatted signature" normally would.
Because an image of a signature has no name text that is automatically captured, the recipient must manually enter their name in the field at the bottom-left of the signature panel. This name is used in the audit report to represent the signer.
- If the recipient's name is included during the compose process, that name will appear as the default in the name field within the signature panel.

Tip:

By enabling the Image and Drawn signature types, the option to use a Mobile device to capture the signature is added to the signature panel. This options allows a recipient to send a link to the signature panel to their touch screen or stylus device, where the signature is captured and returned to the agreement.
(This option is not available to Acrobat Sign for Government accounts)

Related settings

There are several settings that are involved with or that parallel the signature types allowed:

When the Stamps workflow and the option to Use a stamp as a signature are enabled, you can insert a Stamp field instead of a Signature field.

This option is handy for customers who sign documents using Hanko or other traditional stamp methods.

The Signature Preferences admin menu highlighting the Stamp workflow controls.

Note:

Using stamps as a signature option is currently supported only in the classic Request Signature workflow.

Automatically adjust the line and captured image of a drawn signature to ensure it’s large enough to read without overwhelming the width of the page.

The Signature Preferences admin menu highlighting the Required Mobile Signature workflow controls.

If capturing a signature that closely reflects the recipient’s actual handwriting is important to your process, you can require the signature step to be completed on the recipient’s mobile device. This ensures they can provide a drawn or image-based signature using a touchscreen.

If your organization needs to meet compliance requirements for timestamping but doesn’t require digital signature certificates, enabling the stand-alone timestamp may be the right solution.

This option allows you to associate a cryptographic timestamp with the Certification Seal applied to all Acrobat Sign agreements. It supports compliance with certain regulatory and industry standards, such as Japan’s Electronic Books Maintenance Act.

The Security Settings admin menu highlighting the Timestamp controls.

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Configure how you will allow recipients to sign and initial agreements

Enable one or more styles of signature you are willing to accept: Types, Drawn, and Image.

How it's used

Best practices