Certify the case law PDF as the court's relied-upon copy and add a note indicating where the court will rely on it in …
Open the PDF document you want to certify in Adobe Acrobat.
Go to the Tools pane and select Protect.
In the Protect toolbar, click Certify with Visible Signature or Certify with Invisible Signature depending on your preference.
Drag to draw the signature field on the page if prompted for a visible signature, or confirm placement for an invisible signature.
In the dialog that appears, select your digital ID from the list or add a new one if necessary.
Set the Permissions options to control what changes are allowed after certifying (e.g., no changes, form fill-in only, or comments only).
Optionally, enter a reason for certifying the document.
Click Sign to apply the certifying signature.
Save the PDF when prompted to complete the certification process.
Best practiceIf you need to allow others to fill forms or add comments after certification, choose the appropriate restriction option before signing.
After certifying a PDF, Acrobat will display a blue ribbon in the document’s toolbar to indicate the document is certified and show any allowed changes.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
| Feature | Regular Digital Signature | Certificate Signature (Certify) |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | To sign a document, showing agreement or approval. | To certify a document, locking it against changes and confirming its origin. |
| Placement | Can be added to a PDF that already has other signatures. | Must be the very first signature on a PDF. No other signatures can be present. |
| Effect | Indicates signer's identity and intent. | Indicates signer's identity and makes the document tamper-evident from that point. |
Certifying a PDF is like putting a final seal on it to protect its content from changes. If other signatures were already present, the certification would not be able to guarantee the document's integrity from the very beginning. This rule ensures that the certification acts as the primary and most trusted mark on the document, confirming its state at that exact moment.
A Digital ID is your personal digital identity, like an electronic passport. It contains a private key, which you use to create the unique certificate signature, and a public key, which others use to verify your signature. You need a Digital ID to certify a PDF because it proves your identity and ensures that you are the one applying the certification, making the document trustworthy.
When you certify a PDF, you can choose what types of changes are allowed after certification. For example, you might allow only form filling or comments, or no changes at all. If someone tries to make changes that are not allowed, the certification will show that the document has been altered, which breaks the trust of the certification. This helps protect the document's original content.