Checking a signed PDF without an account
Upload a PDF to the Verify page to see who sealed it, what the seal covers, and whether this exact file is in SignSpry's records.
Anyone can check a PDF, with no account: open Verify a document, choose the file and press Verify. If you are signed in it is also in the account menu (top right) as Verify a document. Send the link to a bank, a counterparty or a court clerk and they can do the same.
How to check a file
- Open /verify.
- Under Signed PDF to verify, choose the PDF.
- Press Verify and read the result below the form.
The page recomputes the file's digest and reads the seal. No account is needed and the file isn't kept.
What the result says
If the file carries a SignSpry seal you will see Seal present, followed by:
| Line | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sealed by | The identity on the seal's certificate: SignSpry's platform seal. |
| Signed range digest (SHA-256) | A fingerprint of the part of the file the seal covers. |
| File SHA-256 | A fingerprint of the whole file you uploaded. |
| Seal covers N of M bytes | How much of the file the seal covers. The remainder is the signature container itself. |
Then one of two lines about our records:
- Known envelope on this server: "Title" — audit chain of N events is intact. This exact file is the sealed document of an envelope on SignSpry, and its hash-chained audit trail still adds up. If the chain were broken the page would say BROKEN.
- This exact file isn't in this server's records. It is a file SignSpry doesn't hold: it may have been sealed on another SignSpry installation, or it may have been changed after sealing. Changing even one byte produces a different fingerprint.
If there is no seal at all, you see No seal found, with a reason. The file was not sealed by SignSpry, or the seal was removed.
How to read it
The strongest result is a match in our records. It means the file you hold is byte for byte the document SignSpry sealed. A seal that is present but not in our records tells you who sealed the file and what it covers, but not that the file is the one in any envelope we hold.
The page shows the fingerprints so that you can compare them. The page where a signer downloads their signed copy shows the first characters of the sealed file's SHA-256 next to a link to Verify. If those characters match File SHA-256 here, you hold the same file.
For senders
When a signer finishes, the page offers Check a signed PDF is genuine, which opens this same page. You can point a recipient to it in your cover message.