An e-signature (electronic signature) is any electronic mark or symbol a person attaches to a document to signal they agree to it — a typed name, a scanned ink signature, or a signature drawn with a mouse, finger, or stylus. It's a broad, everyday term, not a specific technology.
E-signature vs. digital signature
These two terms get used interchangeably, but they're not the same thing. An e-signature is simply evidence of intent to sign — visually, it can be as simple as a picture of your signature placed on a page. A digital signature is a specific cryptographic technology (often built on standards like PAdES or PKCS#7) that binds a signer's verified identity to a document using a certificate and a hash, so any later tampering is detectable. Every digital signature is a kind of e-signature; most e-signatures are not digital signatures in that strict cryptographic sense.
What an e-signature actually captures
In its simplest form — the kind most people reach for day to day — an e-signature is an image of a signature composited onto a PDF at a specific spot on a specific page. It looks, on the printed or exported page, exactly like a pen signature would. It doesn't, by itself, cryptographically prove who signed or that the document wasn't altered afterward — that's what a digital signature or a dedicated e-signature platform with an audit trail adds on top.
When a simple e-signature is enough
For a huge range of everyday paperwork — signing off on an internal document, initialing a form, returning a signed copy of something you've already agreed to by other means — a visual signature placed on the page is exactly what's expected and exactly what gets accepted. It's fast, free, and doesn't require either party to set up an account anywhere.
When you need more than that
For documents where legal enforceability, identity verification, or tamper-evidence really matters — contracts above a certain value, regulated filings, anything that might end up in a dispute — check what your jurisdiction and counterparty actually require. That may mean a certified digital-signature service rather than a plain image-based signature.
Draw or upload a signature and place it on your PDF, entirely in your browser.