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Signature Types

Signature type options

Acrobat allows for two types of signature, electronic and written.

All accounts are configured to use electronic signatures by default, but if your work process demands a written signature, that option is available.

  1. Navigate to Account Settings > Send Settings
  2. Scroll down to Allowed Signature Types
  3. Check one or both of the signature workflows (Electronic/Written)
  4. Select a default value.
    • If both options are available, the sender can switch between the workflows as they require.
  5. Click Save to commit the change.
Note:

If only one signature type is enabled for the group, then the option to select a signature type is hidden on the Send page. Both options must be enabled for the option to be exposed and selectable for senders.

Allow senders to select a written signature type

Best Practices and Considerations

Accounts that have Users in Multiple Groups enabled are strongly encouraged to identify the workflows that require a written signature or recipient groups and isolate them in their own group if possible. This allows greater application of default values that limit the number of configurable options on the Send page, streamlining the sending process and avoiding configuration errors.

If Written signatures are enabled as an option, there are a few other settings to consider:

  • Set the default signature type to Written if your process demands it.
  • Enable Upload a Signed Document in the event that a recipient mails the document back to you.
  • Enable the option for recipients to convert e-signatures to a Written signature type.
  • Enable Written signatures when Limited Document Visibility is enabled.

Enable recipients to convert to a Written signature

The option to allow recipients to convert to a written signature is a useful tool if you encounter signer skepticism of the electronic signature process.

  1. Navigate to Account Settings > Signature Preferences.
  2. Scroll down to Additional Settings.
  3. Check the option to Allow signers to print, place written signatures, and upload the agreement back to Acrobat Sign instead of e-signing it.
  4. Save to commit the change.
Allow recipients to convert to a written signature type

Note:

The option to allow recipients to convert to a written signature type is not dependent on the option to allow written signatures when sending new agreements.

Enable Written signatures when Limited Document Visibility is enabled

If you are using Limited Document Visibility (LDV) workflows, and you need to accommodate the option for written signature types, you must explicitly enable Written signatures within the scope of LDV.

If you do not, the option to send agreements with a Written signature type is hidden on the Send page and can not be configured by the sender.

  1. Navigate to Account Settings > Global Settings (Group Settings when configured at the group level).
  2. Scroll down to Limited Document Visibility.
  3. Check the option to Allow sending for written signature. Recipients will always see all the pages when required to use written signature
  4. Save to commit the change.
Allow written signatures in limited document visibility workflows

Alert:

As the setting asserts, any agreement sent using both Limited Document Visibility and the Written signature type ignores the LDV workflow and presents the entire document for the recipient to view.

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