Signature Panel in Zoho Sign

Signature Panel in Zoho Sign

The signature panel lets you validate a digitally signed document and view its signer and certificate details, right inside Zoho Sign — without downloading the file or opening it in a separate desktop tool.
Consider a scenario where you receive a document that's already been digitally signed using Zoho Sign. Instead of opening it in a PDF reader to check whether the signature is genuine, you can verify it directly in Zoho Sign before you countersign or act on the document.

Opening the signature panel

  1. From your Zoho Sign dashboard, hover over Documents.
  2. Select the relevant status:
    1. Completed — if all recipients have signed.
    2. In-progress — if at least one recipient has signed.
  3. Click on the required document and from the detailed view, click View document. 
  4. At the top of the document, you'll see the notice: "This document is digitally signed. Open the signature panel to verify its authenticity and view signer details."
  5. Click Signature panel.
Zoho Sign runs a full validation and opens the panel alongside the document, listing every signature it contains.



What Zoho Sign checks

When you open the signature panel, Zoho Sign validates each signature for:
  1. Integrity — confirms the document hasn't been modified since the signature was applied.
  2. Signer identity — verifies and displays the signer's certificate details.
  3. Trust — checks that the signer's certificate chains up to a trusted certifying authority.
  4. Revocation — checks whether the signer's certificate has been revoked.
  5. Modifications — detects any changes made after signing and whether they're permitted.
  6. Timestamp — validates when the signature was applied.
Note: Validation runs securely on Zoho Sign's servers — the document is read only to verify it, and no changes are made to it.

Reading the signature panel

Signatures

The Signatures section lists each signature in the order it was applied:
  1. Certified by {CA name} — the certifying authority that secured the document.
  2. Signed by {Signer name} — each person who signed the document.

Signature details

Each signature opens with a validity summary. For a certified document, it reads:
Valid certified document. Changes have been made that are permitted by the certifying party. Form filling, signing and annotations are allowed.
Below the summary, the panel confirms:
  1. Document has not been modified since this signature was applied — the signed content is intact.
  2. Signer's identity is valid — the signer's certificate is valid and trusted.
  3. Signing time is based on the signer's device clock, which can't be independently verified — the timestamp comes from the signer's device rather than a trusted time source.
  4. Signature is LTV enabled — LTV or Long Term Validation allows a signature to be validated over the long term.
Note: Because the signing time is taken from the signer's device clock, it isn't independently verified. For a trusted, verifiable time, enable document timestamping in Zoho Sign.

Signature properties

Signature properties lists the technical details of the signature:
  1. Reason: the statement embedded in the signature.
  2. Signed on: the date and time the signature was applied (e.g., 2026-06-03 11:06:27 IST).
  3. Signing algorithm: the algorithm used (e.g., SHA256withRSA (2048 bit)).
  4. Revocation status: the result of the revocation check — for example, Good (valid), Revoked, or Not checked if the status couldn't be verified.
  5. Document revision: which revision of the document this signature covers (e.g., 2/2). Each signature added to a document creates a new revision.
  6. Signature field: the field the signature is applied to. An invisible signature secures the document without being displayed on the page.

Certificate chain

The Certificate chain shows the trust path for the signature — the signer's certificate and the authority that issued it, each with its validity period.