Send a PDF that already has a digital signature - New

Send a pre-signed PDF for additional signatures without flattening the existing digital signature.

Use this workflow when you have one PDF that was digitally signed before upload and still needs additional signatures in Adobe Acrobat Sign.

When your administrator enables digital signature preservation, Acrobat Sign can keep the existing digital signature intact while the agreement collects additional signatures. The agreement must meet the supported setup requirements.

Before you begin

Use a PDF that has clear, unsigned areas for any fields that still need to be added in Acrobat Sign.

Digital signature preservation supports agreements that use:

• One uploaded PDF file.
• A PDF that already contains a digital signature.
• Supported recipient roles.

Digital signature preservation doesn’t support agreements that use:

• Multiple uploaded documents.
• Non-PDF files.
• Library templates.
• Web forms.
• Send in Bulk.
• Custom workflows.
• Reusable field templates.
• In-person signer roles.
• Sign with a witness.
• Notarize transactions.

Send a digitally signed PDF

If the agreement meets the requirements, Acrobat Sign preserves the existing digital signature and limits actions that could invalidate it.

Add fields in authoring

When digital signature preservation applies, authoring shows only the options that are supported for the agreement.

• Unsupported field types are hidden.
• A message explains the available authoring options.
• Existing digital signatures are visible, but can’t be selected, edited, or otherwise changed.
• Switching to the classic authoring experience is blocked.

These limits help prevent changes that could invalidate the preserved digital signature.

Fix a blocked agreement setup

Acrobat Sign prevents agreement creation when the agreement doesn’t meet the requirements for digital signature preservation.

To continue, update the agreement so it uses:

• One uploaded PDF.
• No additional uploaded files.
• No non-PDF files.
• A supported workflow.
• Supported recipient roles.

Then continue creating the agreement.

Things to know

• Digital signature preservation applies only to uploaded PDF files.
• The existing digital signature is preserved only when the agreement meets the requirements.
• If digital signature preservation isn’t enabled, existing digital signatures are flattened during standard document processing, and only their visual appearance is preserved.
• Digital signature preservation performs lightweight cryptographic validation. It isn’t a full signature validation solution.