How to validate an electronic signature?

Open your Adobe reader and select Edit>Preferences. If the preferences dialog box contains a ‘Signatures’ option in the category list, follow the first set of instructions (option #1). If you do not see a ‘Signatures’ option, the settings that you need to change can be accessed in the ‘Security’ category – as detailed in the second set of instructions (option #2).

Option #1 – using the ‘Signatures’ category in your Adobe preferences

  1. Open Adobe Reader and select Edit > Preferences. The Acrobat Preferences dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Signatures option

  3. In the Verification area, click on the

    button labelled ‘More...

  4. The Signature Verification Preferences

    box will appear.

  5. The option to ‘Require certificate revocation checking...’ should be unchecked.

  6. In the Windows Integration area, both of the options should be selected

  7. Click OK to return to the Preferences dialog box.

Note: Setting the Verify signatures when document is opened option automatically activates a validation procedure for all of the document’s digital signatures when the document is opened. The default is that digital signatures are not validated automatically when a document is opened. For optimum workflow, it is best to check this option.

 

Option #2 – using the ‘Security’ category in your Adobe preferences

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat and select Edit > Preferences. The Acrobat Preferences dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Security option

  3. Click the Advanced Preferences

    button.

  4. In the area within the Verification tab, the option to ‘Require certificate revocation checking...’ should be unchecked.

  5. In the Creation tab, the option to Include signature’s revocation status when signing’ should be unchecked.

  6. In the area within the Windows Integration tab, all three of the options should be checked.

  7. Click OK to return to the Preferences dialog box and select OK.

Note: Setting the Verify signatures when document is opened option automatically activates a validation procedure for all of the document’s digital signatures when the document is opened. The default is that digital signatures are not validated automatically when a document is opened. For optimum workflow, it is best to check this option.