While wet signatures are universally accepted, they are not very secure because they’re easier to forge. If you want a signing method that is both secure and flexible, consider alternatives like electronic signatures and digital signatures.

Wetsignature synonym

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Wet signatures are easy to differentiate from other signature types because they are the only handwritten signatures. But what about digital and electronic signatures?

Wetsignature online

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You need a wet signature when an institution requires a physical signature on a document or when the law does not recognize the validity of electronic signatures for a document.

Can awetsignature be scanned

Wetsignature example

You simply click a box, use your finger to draw your name on your device’s screen, or type your name into a signature field shown to you from your computer, tablet or mobile phone.

Businesses that rely on wet signatures must purchase paper, printers, and ink. They also have to pay to store the signed documents in an offsite contract repository. A company spends around $25,000 to fill one file cabinet and an additional $2,100 each year to maintain it. The costs of filing thousands of documents can cause higher expenses for a business.

Unlike electronic signatures and digital signatures, you don’t need special equipment to sign wet signatures. All you need is a pen to scribble your signature on the document given to you.

Wetsignature vs dry signature

Wetsignature on PDF

Digital signatures are a bit more complicated than electronic signatures and aren’t necessary for most documents. They provide non-repudiation for electronic transactions. This means that a signatory who has the signature key pair for a document cannot successfully claim that they did not sign that document. This feature is especially useful for workflow processes where multiple people have to approve the signed document, like the financial management of expense reports or supply chain management.

You’ll need an electronic signature software like SignWell to sign electronic signatures. SignWell handles electronic signatures in a way that makes them compliant with E-Sign laws around the world. It tracks, identifies the people involved, proves intent –people have to agree to sign electronically, and ensures that the documents aren’t modified.

Electronic signatures are secure too. Unlike wet signatures, electronic signatures provide traceable data about who the signatory is, when they signed and where they signed.

An electronic signature is a symbol (like a checkmark, for example) attached to a document and used by a person who wants to sign the document.

You should also use a wet signature when an institution’s policy states that they only accept wet signatures or when the signatories prefer to use this method, as opposed to electronic or digital signatures.

Can awetsignature be electronic

A wet signature (also called wet ink signature) is a mark placed on a physical document with a pen, pencil, or any other writing tool to show an agreement between two or more parties-whether that’s people or institutions. For example, a handwritten signature on a mortgage deed, or on a divorce agreement.

It’s called a wet signature because contracting parties use ink or wax to make it, which leaves a moist imprint immediately after signing.

Wet signatures are not secure. With enough practice, someone can easily forge a wet signature. Take the case of ebay bookseller, Forrest Smith, who forged autographs and sold autographed books to over 400 people before he got caught.

Wet signmeaning

While using wet signatures is the old way of signing documents, electronic signatures eliminate the slow tasks of printing, scanning, and faxing or mailing contracts. Electronic signatures are especially great for remote workers who cannot appear physically to exchange and sign contracts.

Yes, you can scan and use a wet signature in online documents. A document is acceptable under the law if it has a scanned wet signature on it.

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Although the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act) allows the validity of e-signatures, it also permits institutions in the United States to impose signature policies based on their preferences. This means that an institution that prefers that people sign their contracts with a written signature can enforce that preference.

In the United States, certain documents around insurance, wills, adoptions, divorce, trusts, mortgages, and other collateral documents may require wet signatures.

Businesses and people save time and money when they use electronic signatures instead of wet signatures because they don’t have to print the document.

On the signing day, all the signatories and their witnesses have to meet at the location to sign the documents. If a signatory cannot make it to the location on the signing day, someone would have to snail mail the documents to the signatory. When that signatory has signed, they have to mail back the documents to the other contracting parties. This process takes a lot of time.

If you’re considering using electronic signatures for your business, tools like SignWell make every process from the document creation to the actual signing easier.

Wet signatures are not eco-friendly because it involves the use of paper. According to a report documented on ResearchGate, the production of paper contributes to land, water and air pollution, and climate change. To make paper, the manufacturers need to cut down trees and process the wood. The production of paper in paper mills releases sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon dioxide into the air, all of which are air pollutants. Finally, when paper rots after it’s disposed of, it emits methane—a greenhouse gas—into the air.

Putting a signature on a document shouldn’t be hard. The SignWell mission? Simplify how documents get signed for millions of people and businesses.

But a wet signature isn’t limited to a handwritten signature only. It can be as simple as an ‘X’ mark or as sophisticated as using a name seal (a piece of wax or lead with a unique design stamped into it) to guarantee the authenticity of the document.

A digital signature is a PKI-based certificate that confirms the identity of a signatory and ensures that no one has forged or altered an electronic document or message. A public key infrastructure (PKI) is the set of policies, software, hardware and procedures that is needed to provide unique digital identities for signatories and protect sensitive data.

For example, you’ll need a wet ink signature to sign any of the following documents because the law doesn’t allow the use of electronic signatures with them.