How do I validate a digital signature in Adobe Acrobat?

Open the document with the signature in Acrobat. Click on the digital signature in the document. A status bar or panel will show if the signature is valid and who signed it. Check the 'Signature Properties' for more details about the signer's certificate.

What is the difference between verifying a signature and managing trusted identities?

Action Purpose Outcome. Verify a signature To check if a specific signature on a document is authentic and has not been tampered with. You get a status (valid, invalid, unknown) for that one signature. Manage trusted identities To tell Adobe Acrobat which certificate issuers or signers you trust, so their signatures are always seen as valid. Acrobat automatically trusts signatures from those sources in the future, simplifying verification.

Maintain Audit Trail in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

2 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Collect countersignatures from Legal [approver=Aaron Chen], Compliance [approver=Rita Gomez],…+

Collect countersignatures from Legal [approver=Aaron Chen], Compliance [approver=Rita Gomez], and Operations [approver=Samir Khan] and keep the audit trail intact; send the agreement for sequential signatures and preserve the signed versions for compliance review.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

BImprove — “do it better”Reduce review friction for Aaron, Rita, and Samir: set up sequential countersigning with clear…+

Reduce review friction for Aaron, Rita, and Samir: set up sequential countersigning with clear sign‑order, include a one‑line summary of the legal or compliance risk each approver should confirm, and preserve a timestamped audit trail and version comparison for the compliance file.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open the PDF document containing the digital signature you want to validate.
2
Locate the signature field or signature panel in the document.
3
Click directly on the digital signature or open the signature panel and select the signature you wish to validate.
4
In the signature details popup, click Signature Properties.
5
In the Signature Properties dialog, click Show Certificate to review certificate details if needed.
6
Close the certificate window, then click Validate Signature in the Signature Properties dialog.
Best practiceIf the signature status shows as 'Unknown' or 'Not Valid', check if the signer's certificate needs to be added to your list of trusted identities.
7
Review the validation result displayed in the Signature Properties dialog.

In the appWith the API

You can view detailed information about the signature's validity and certificate by clicking on the signature and opening Signature Properties.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

CertificateAn electronic file that proves a person's or organization's identity online, like a digital ID card.ExampleYour certificate confirms your identity when you access secure online government services.

Trusted IdentitySomeone whose digital signature certificate you have chosen to trust in your software.ExampleYou add your manager's digital signature certificate as a trusted identity in your document software.

Who does this

3 roles

Contract ManagerLegal AssistantCompliance Officer

FAQ

about this task

Open the document with the signature in Acrobat.
Click on the digital signature in the document.
A status bar or panel will show if the signature is valid and who signed it.
Check the 'Signature Properties' for more details about the signer's certificate.

A digital signature is only as good as the trust you place in the person or organization that issued the signer's certificate. If you don't trust the certificate issuer, you can't be sure the signature is truly from the person it claims to be. Adobe Acrobat helps you manage these trusted identities to ensure reliable validation.

A digital signature can become invalid over time if the signing certificate expires or if the timestamp server used is no longer accessible. To prevent this, you should add 'Long-Term Validation' (LTV) information when you sign or validate. LTV embeds all necessary verification data, making the signature self-validating even after the original certificate expires.

Action	Purpose	Outcome
Verify a signature	To check if a specific signature on a document is authentic and has not been tampered with.	You get a status (valid, invalid, unknown) for that one signature.
Manage trusted identities	To tell Adobe Acrobat which certificate issuers or signers you trust, so their signatures are always seen as valid.	Acrobat automatically trusts signatures from those sources in the future, simplifying verification.

Verifying certificate information is crucial because it tells you who the signature truly belongs to and if their identity has been confirmed by a trusted source. This step helps prevent fraud and ensures that the document's signer is legitimate, adding a layer of security and legal reliability to your documents.

Maintain Audit Trail

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help