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Sigilbase

What a Sigilbase signature proves#

This page is the single honest reference for the signature record SigilSign produces. It states what the record proves, what it does not, and where the legal boundaries are. Product copy, certificates, and support answers defer to this page.

What the record contains#

When someone signs a document through Sigilbase, the following become events in your tamper-evident stream, sealed into signed checkpoints and verifiable offline with the standalone verifier:

  • The request: who was asked, in what order, against which exact document version (by SHA-256), when their turn opened.
  • The view: when the signer first saw the document, with the SHA-256 of the exact version they saw.
  • The signature: the signer's identity as claimed, their full name typed as confirmation, the stated intent (e.g. "I agree to be bound by this document"), the SHA-256 of the document — provably the same hash they viewed — the SHA-256 of their signature mark, the time, and whether an email-possession code was confirmed before signing.

What this proves#

  • That these facts were recorded at these times, inside a hash chain whose integrity anyone can verify offline, without trusting Sigilbase.
  • That what was signed is byte-for-byte the document identified by the hash — not a similar document, not a later edit.
  • That the viewed and signed versions are the same: the verifier checks the hashes agree.
  • Where a qualified timestamp anchors the checkpoint: that the record existed no later than the anchored time, attested by an authority outside Sigilbase.

What this does not prove#

  • Legal effect. Sigilbase provides a simple electronic signature. Under English law simple electronic signatures are valid for most ordinary contracts, and this record is unusually strong evidence of the act of signing — but Sigilbase makes no claim about the enforceability or validity of any document or signature in any particular case or jurisdiction. Whether a given agreement stands is a question about the agreement, the parties, and the law, not about the tooling.
  • Identity to an assurance level. The record shows the identity claimed and the controls applied — a personal signed link, and email possession where the code check was required. Sigilbase does not verify identity documents and does not provide advanced or qualified electronic signatures under eIDAS (AES/QES).
  • Statutory execution. Deeds, wills, guarantees, and certain property and regulated instruments have execution requirements this product does not meet and does not claim to meet. They need appropriate legal execution outside this tool.

The comparison that matters#

A conventional e-signature tool records the ceremony — drafted, sent, viewed, signed — in its own database, which you must trust. Sigilbase records the entire lifecycle as events in your own tamper-evident ledger, byte-bound to the exact document version, optionally anchored by a qualified timestamp, linkable to the business events the document concerns, and verifiable offline by anyone you hand the bundle to. The signature record does not just exist; it verifies.