Sign a Document

PSPDFKit Server has been deprecated and replaced by PSPDFKit Document Engine. All PSPDFKit Server and PSPDFKit for Web Server-Backed licenses will work as before and be supported until 15 May 2024 (we will contact you about license migration). To start using Document Engine, refer to the migration guide. With Document Engine, you’ll have access to robust new capabilities (read the blog for more information).

When you digitally sign a document with a certificate-based signature, PSPDFKit Server will use your configured signing service to calculate and apply a document-wide digital signature. As a result, PSPDFKit Server will save the signed PDF as the new asset for the document. The old file is kept as the original asset for the document.

1. Your service tells PSPDFKit Server to sign the document. The Server retrieves the document from the asset storage.

2. Server sends the digest of document content to the configured signing service. The signing service creates a signature by encrypting the digest using an asymmetric cryptography algorithm, and it then returns it to the Server. The signing service can be the same service that made a signing request to the Server.

3. PSPDFKit Server embeds the signature in the document and saves the signed document in the asset storage, preserving the original. The information about the newly created signature is returned to the Server.