Glossary

E-signature terms, A to Z.

An A–Z glossary of e-signature terms, from activity history to wet signature.

25 terms

Activity history: The chronological record of events on a signature request, such as when it was sent, viewed, signed, declined, or completed. Also called an audit trail.

CC recipient: A person who receives a copy of the documents in a signature request without being asked to sign.
Completion certificate: A record generated when every signer has completed a request, summarizing the request, its parties, and its signing events.

Decline: A signer’s choice not to sign a request, ending or pausing the request.
Digital signature: A cryptographic technique for showing that a document came from a particular signer and has not changed. Often used to implement an electronic signature, but narrower in meaning.

eIDAS: The EU regulation on electronic identification and trust services (Regulation (EU) No 910/2014), which defines simple, advanced, and qualified electronic signatures.
Electronic signature: An electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or associated with a record and adopted by a person with the intent to sign it.
Envelope: A common industry term for one signature request, which may contain several documents and several signers. Many e-signature plans limit how many envelopes you can send.
ESIGN Act: The US Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act of 2000, a federal law that generally gives electronic signatures and records the same legal effect as paper ones.
Expiration date: The date after which a signature request can no longer be signed.

Initials: A field where a signer adds their initials, often to acknowledge a specific page or clause.

Legal hold: An instruction to preserve records that may be relevant to litigation or an investigation, suspending normal deletion or alteration.

Parallel signing: A signing mode where every signer receives the request at once and can sign in any order.
Prefilled field: A field whose value is filled in by the sender before the request is sent.

Reminder: A follow-up message sent to a signer who has not yet completed a request.

Seat license: A per-user charge for software, where each person who uses the product needs a paid seat.
Selection field: A field where a signer chooses one option from a list.
Sequential signing: A signing mode where signers receive a request one at a time in a set order, each after the previous signer finishes.
Signature field: A place on a document where a specific signer applies their signature.
Signature request: A set of one or more documents sent to one or more people to sign, with its fields, recipients, and schedule.
Signer: A person asked to sign or complete fields on a signature request.

Template: A saved, reusable setup for a document you send often, including its fields, recipients, and settings.

UETA: The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, a model law adopted by most US states that generally gives electronic signatures and records legal effect.