What is an audit trail?
An electronic signature audit trail is the tamper-evident record that proves who signed a document, when, and from where. It’s what turns a signature into evidence — and it’s embedded in every document signed through SignLab.
Why an audit trail matters
A signature on its own is easy to dispute. The audit trail is what lets you answer the questions that come up if a signed agreement is ever challenged: Did the right person sign? Did they agree to sign electronically? Has the document changed since? Without a trail, an electronic signature is just an image. With one, it’s a defensible record.
Electronic-signature laws across the UAE, EU, UK and US all point to the same idea — a signature should be reliably linked to the signer and to the document. The audit trail is how that link is proven.
What SignLab records
Every signed document carries a complete, append-only record:
- A unique document identifier linked to every event
- A UTC timestamp for each step — created, emailed, viewed, signed
- The IP address and device (user agent) captured at each event
- The signer’s name and email as entered at signing
- A SHA-256 hash of the signed document for tamper detection
- A QR code on the PDF linking to public verification
The record is written once and never edited — it’s embedded in the signed PDF and stored in SignLab’s secure audit database.
Audit trail vs. Certificate of Completion
The audit trail
The chronological log of every event, embedded inside the signed PDF itself — always travels with the document.
The Certificate of Completion
A standalone summary document of the signing event — handy to file or share with a counterparty alongside the signed agreement.
How tamper-evidence works
When a document is signed, SignLab computes a SHA-256 hash — a unique fingerprint of the exact file. Change a single character and the fingerprint changes completely. SignLab stores that fingerprint, so anyone can re-hash a copy of the PDF and compare: if the fingerprints match, the document is untouched; if they differ, it has been altered since signing. That comparison is exactly what the public verification page does.
Verify it yourself
Scan the QR code on any signed SignLab PDF, or upload the file on the verification page, to confirm it hasn’t been tampered with. Verification is free and needs no account.
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