Certificate of completion
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Definition
A certificate of completion is the summary document an e-signature platform produces when all parties finish signing, compiling the signer identities, timestamps, IP addresses, consent records, and document fingerprint into one evidentiary exhibit.
Think of it as the cover sheet for the audit trail. The platform watched the whole transaction, who opened what and when, from which address, what they consented to, and when each signature landed. The certificate of completion is that history rendered as a document you can hand to a lawyer, an auditor, or a counterparty.
What's typically on it
Per signer: name, email, the signature image or mark, signing timestamp in UTC, IP address, and often the browser user-agent. Per document: a unique envelope or transaction ID, the document hash, the sequence of events (sent, viewed, signed, completed), and the consent language each signer accepted. The good ones state the hash algorithm so the integrity claim is checkable.
Separate page vs embedded evidence
Most platforms generate the certificate as a separate PDF or an appended page, which works but creates a pairing problem, since the contract and its evidence can drift apart in someone's filing system. Sign Sail's approach embeds the evidence in the signed PDF itself, with signer details, timestamps, IP, consent, and the SHA-256 hash printed in the document's audit block, then PAdES-seals the whole file. The document is its own certificate, and the seal proves neither half was edited.
↗ · Common questions
Is a certificate of completion legally required?
No law names it, but the attribution and integrity evidence it compiles is exactly what ESIGN, UETA, and eIDAS make enforceability turn on. In practice it's the exhibit you produce when a signature is challenged, so you want it complete and tamper-evident even though no statute mandates the format.
Where do I find the certificate for a Sign Sail document?
Inside the signed PDF itself. The audit-trail block with each signer's details, timestamps, IP, consent, and the SHA-256 hash is part of the document, and the file carries a PAdES seal, so you never have to match a separate certificate to the right contract.
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See it in a real signature.
Every Sign Sail plan, the free one included, captures this evidence on every signature.