Free Elec­tron­ic Sig­na­ture: Pay At­ten­tion to Se­cur­ity

The ad­op­tion of elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture (or di­git­al sig­na­ture) has seen a sig­ni­fic­ant in­crease glob­ally, in­clud­ing in the UK, es­pe­cially with the rise of remote work and di­git­al trans­ac­tions. This trend was fur­ther ac­cel­er­ated by the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic, which ne­ces­sit­ated con­tact­less op­er­a­tions for busi­nesses and in­di­vidu­als alike.

The UK gov­ern­ment re­cog­nises di­git­al sig­na­ture as leg­ally valid and equi­val­ent to hand­writ­ten sig­na­ture in most cases, under the Elec­tron­ic Com­mu­nic­a­tions Act 2000 and fur­ther sup­por­ted by the EU's eIDAS reg­u­la­tion before Brexit, and re­tained in UK law post-Brexit. This legal frame­work has en­cour­aged the use of elec­tron­ic sig­na­tures across vari­ous sec­tors, from real estate and fin­ance to legal ser­vices and health­care.

While many di­git­al sig­na­ture solu­tions are going to cost you, there are some in­ex­pens­ive op­tions or even free.

Choos­ing an di­git­al sig­na­ture ser­vice that pri­or­it­ises se­cur­ity en­sures that your doc­u­ments are leg­ally bind­ing, pro­tec­ted against tam­per­ing, and com­pli­ant with rel­ev­ant laws and reg­u­la­tions. It also safe­guards the pri­vacy and in­teg­rity of the in­form­a­tion, con­trib­ut­ing to the over­all se­cur­ity pos­ture of your busi­ness.

Read on to dis­cov­er how you can make an elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture free with Aatos Sign, and why it’s a better solu­tion than any other on the market.

The Grow­ing Demand for Free Elec­tron­ic Sig­na­ture Solu­tions

The demand for elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture solu­tions has stead­ily in­creased over the years, a trend that has only ac­cel­er­ated with the global shift to­wards remote work.

To quote a 2021 art­icle in Forbes:

 “The number of busi­nesses using eSig­na­ture has in­creased by 50%, while in­di­vidu­al users have grown 13%. And in a post-pan­dem­ic world, 69% of re­spond­ents will con­tin­ue to choose eSig­na­ture over in-person sign­ing.”

Be­cause many op­tions on the market cost money, the demand for free elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture solu­tions has also been on the rise. Small to medium-sized busi­nesses, freel­an­cers, and pro­fes­sion­als who don’t have a large budget for these tools are look­ing for ef­fi­cient and cost-ef­fect­ive ways to manage their doc­u­ment sign­ing pro­cesses di­git­ally.

This is where Aatos Sign comes to the rescue as a re­li­able and com­pre­hens­ive solu­tion.

💡 Aatos Sign offers you to add two free elec­tron­ic sig­na­tures to your doc­u­ments. Unlock the op­por­tun­ity to get un­lim­ited sig­na­tures for £99.

Read more about be­com­ing self-em­ployed

Se­lect­ing a Di­git­al Sig­na­ture Solu­tion

When choos­ing a Di­git­al Sig­na­ture Solu­tion, the user ex­per­i­ence is para­mount. The solu­tion should be in­tu­it­ive and easy to nav­ig­ate for both the sender and the re­cip­i­ent of doc­u­ments.

Look for a plat­form with a straight­for­ward setup pro­cess, clear in­struc­tions, and the abil­ity to easily upload, sign, and manage doc­u­ments. Us­ab­il­ity en­sures that all parties in­volved can use the tool ef­fi­ciently, re­du­cing the need for tech­nic­al sup­port and speed­ing up the sign­ing pro­cess.

Some solu­tions offer a sub­scrip­tion model, while others might charge per doc­u­ment or per sig­na­ture. Assess what fits your budget and op­er­a­tion­al needs best, in­clud­ing con­sid­er­ing the total cost of own­er­ship that en­com­passes any setup, main­ten­ance, or ad­di­tion­al fea­ture costs.

As di­git­al sig­na­tures often in­volve sens­it­ive per­son­al or busi­ness in­form­a­tion, the se­cur­ity of the plat­form cannot be over­stated. It should comply with rel­ev­ant reg­u­la­tions and stand­ards, such as the eIDAS in the EU to ensure the legal valid­ity of your doc­u­ments.

⚠️ It’s im­port­ant to note that while di­git­al sig­na­tures are leg­ally bind­ing in most cases, some doc­u­ments may still re­quire hand­writ­ten sig­na­tures. It is always best to con­sult a legal pro­fes­sion­al before using di­git­al sig­na­tures for im­port­ant or sens­it­ive doc­u­ments, such as Last Wills.

Read more: Em­ploy­ment Con­tract Tem­plate

Se­cur­ity of Di­git­al Sig­na­ture

Choos­ing a di­git­al sig­na­ture ser­vice that pri­or­it­ises se­cur­ity en­sures that your doc­u­ments are leg­ally bind­ing, pro­tec­ted against tam­per­ing, and com­pli­ant with rel­ev­ant laws and reg­u­la­tions. It also safe­guards the pri­vacy and in­teg­rity of the in­form­a­tion, con­trib­ut­ing to the over­all se­cur­ity pos­ture of your busi­ness.

Pay At­ten­tion to

• How Sens­it­ive Per­son­al or Busi­ness In­form­a­tion are Handled
• eIDAS Stand­ard
• In­teg­rity of Doc­u­ments
• Pre­ven­tion of Re­pu­di­ation

Di­git­al sig­na­tures are often used to sign doc­u­ments that con­tain sens­it­ive per­son­al or busi­ness in­form­a­tion. A secure ser­vice en­sures that this data is pro­tec­ted from un­au­thor­ised access, pre­vent­ing iden­tity theft, fraud, and data breaches.

For di­git­al sig­na­tures to be leg­ally bind­ing, they must meet spe­cif­ic stand­ards and reg­u­la­tions, such as the eIDAS in the European Union. A secure di­git­al sig­na­ture ser­vice will ensure com­pli­ance with these reg­u­la­tions, en­sur­ing the leg­al­ity and en­force­ab­il­ity of your doc­u­ments.

Se­cur­ity fea­tures also ensure that once a doc­u­ment is signed, it hasn't been altered in any way. This in­teg­rity is crit­ic­al for the doc­u­ment to be con­sidered valid and leg­ally bind­ing.

A secure di­git­al sig­na­ture ser­vice provides a clear audit trail, which helps pre­vent sig­nat­or­ies from deny­ing their sig­na­ture or the con­tents of the doc­u­ment. This fea­ture is cru­cial for resolv­ing dis­putes and prov­ing the au­then­ti­city of the signed doc­u­ment.

Read more about bank­ruptcy

Lim­it­a­tions of Using Free Elec­tron­ic Sig­na­ture

While free elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture solu­tions offer a cost-ef­fect­ive option, there are some lim­it­a­tions and con­sid­er­a­tions to keep in mind before choos­ing one:

• Doc­u­ment Limits: some free plat­forms limit the number of doc­u­ments that you can have signed. Busi­nesses with a large number of doc­u­ments would call this a big obstacle.
• Se­cur­ity Con­cerns: free plat­forms may not have a high level of se­cur­ity. It’s im­port­ant to re­search and choose the most suit­able plat­form for your sens­it­ive doc­u­ments.
• Lack of Ad­vanced Fea­tures: Free elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture solu­tions typ­ic­ally offer basic sign­ing func­tion­al­ity, but they might not have ad­vanced fea­tures like tem­plate saving or bulk send­ing op­tions.

Read more about buying a used car

Aatos Sign – Easy Elec­tron­ic Sig­na­ture

When ex­plor­ing the land­scape of elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture solu­tions, it's es­sen­tial to find a plat­form that blends func­tion­al­ity with se­cur­ity, ease of use, and value.

Aatos Sign dis­tin­guishes itself as a great choice, provid­ing a broad range of fea­tures aimed at sim­pli­fy­ing the doc­u­ment sign­ing pro­cess. It guar­an­tees top-notch se­cur­ity and ease of use for all users.

Let's delve into what makes Aatos Sign a pre­ferred choice for in­di­vidu­als and busi­nesses alike:

• Basic Sign­ing Func­tion­al­ity: Like most other elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture plat­forms, Aatos Sign allows users to upload doc­u­ments and add sig­na­ture fields for re­cip­i­ents. Once signed, you can down­load the doc­u­ment or send it dir­ectly to the re­cip­i­ent's email.
• Se­cur­ity Fea­tures: Aatos Sign uses ad­vanced en­cryp­tion and au­then­tic­a­tion meth­ods to ensure all doc­u­ments are secure. They also in­clude an audit trail and a record of all activ­it­ies con­nec­ted with the doc­u­ment.
• User-Friendly In­ter­face: The plat­form is de­signed with a user-friendly in­ter­face, making it easy for anyone to nav­ig­ate and use. You don’t need tech­nic­al know­ledge or train­ing to be an Aatos Sign pro.
• No Doc­u­ment Limits: For a cost of £99, you will re­ceive an un­lim­ited number of sig­na­tures. Ad­di­tion­ally, every new cus­tom­er is en­titled to two free sig­na­tures.
• No Hidden Costs: Some free plat­forms may have hidden costs or re­quire users to up­grade for cer­tain fea­tures. With Aatos Sign, all fea­tures are avail­able at £99.
• No Ex­pir­a­tion Date: Some free plat­forms have an ex­pir­a­tion date for the signed doc­u­ment, after which it cannot be ac­cessed or down­loaded. Aatos Sign does not have any such lim­it­a­tions.

💡 The price of £99 also en­com­passes all legal doc­u­ments, en­abling you to manage your legal needs on the go.

How Can I Sign a Doc­u­ment Online?

A very easy way to sign doc­u­ments online is to use Aatos Sign.

In the Aatos Sign ser­vice, you can invite se­lec­ted in­di­vidu­als via email to sign the doc­u­ment of your choice, or you can sign the doc­u­ment just by your­self. The au­then­ti­city of the signed doc­u­ment can easily be veri­fied through a sep­ar­ate ser­vice.

1. Choose Sig­nat­or­ies. Select the in­di­vidu­als who will sign the doc­u­ment. The sig­nat­or­ies can be a com­bin­a­tion of your­self and others, just you, or only others
2. Create a Free Aatos Ac­count. The ser­vice will prompt you to create an Aatos ac­count. The ac­count is ne­ces­sary for ac­cess­ing signed doc­u­ments later.
3. Upload the Doc­u­ment and Enter Sig­nat­ory De­tails. Upload the doc­u­ment you wish to sign, which must be in PDF format. Af­ter­wards, enter your de­tails and those of the other sig­nat­or­ies. Ensure you have the email ad­dresses of all sig­nat­or­ies, as the system sends sign­ing in­vit­a­tions via email.
4. Sign the Doc­u­ment and Wait for Other Sig­na­tures. If you have in­cluded your­self as a sig­nat­ory, you can sign the doc­u­ment now. Oth­er­wise, wait for the se­lec­ted sig­nat­or­ies to com­plete their sig­na­tures. Each sig­nat­ory will re­ceive an email with a link to pre­view the doc­u­ment and create their elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture.
5. Re­trieve the Signed Doc­u­ment. Once all parties have signed the doc­u­ment, you will re­ceive an email no­ti­fic­a­tion. You can then down­load the signed doc­u­ment.
6. Access Signed Doc­u­ments Any­time. Later, you can view the signed doc­u­ments by log­ging into your Aatos ac­count. Find these doc­u­ments under the 'Aatos Sign' sec­tion in the menu loc­ated in the upper right corner of the page.

This guide en­sures that you can ef­fect­ively use Aatos Sign to handle your di­git­al doc­u­ment sign­ing needs with ease and se­cur­ity.

💡 How to Sign a PDF Doc­u­ment? You can use Aatos Sign to sign PDF doc­u­ments.

Choose Aatos for Your Di­git­al Sig­na­ture Needs

With its user-friendly in­ter­face and no hidden costs, Aatos Sign offers a re­li­able and secure way to create a di­git­al sig­na­ture for free.

Due to the in­creas­ing demand for in­nov­at­ive solu­tions and work­ing from home, plat­forms like Aatos Sign have become ne­ces­sary tools for com­pan­ies of all sizes. So stream­line your doc­u­ment sign­ing pro­cess today with the top free elec­tron­ic sig­na­ture solu­tion: Aatos Sign.