A patient returned a signed surgical consent but the attending surgeon is in clinic and I need to know if the signatur…
Open the PDF document containing the digital signature you want to validate.
If prompted, enable all necessary trust settings for the certificate authority used by the signature.
CautionIf the certificate is not trusted, Acrobat may not be able to validate the signature correctly.
Look for the Signatures panel on the right side, or click on the signature field in the document to open the signature details.
In the Signatures panel or details dialog, review the signature status message to check if the signature is still valid after document changes.
NoteAcrobat will indicate if the document was modified after signing and whether the changes are permitted (such as filling in forms or adding approved annotations) or if the signature was invalidated by unauthorized edits.
Expand the signature properties to view the list of changes made after signing, if any.
Best practiceClicking 'View Signed Version' lets you compare the signed state to the current version to see exactly what changed.
Confirm whether the signature remains valid or has been invalidated by edits, as indicated by Acrobat.
You can quickly check if a signature is still valid after changes by opening the signature panel and reviewing the status message.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
A digital signature is 'trusted' when Adobe Acrobat recognizes the signer's certificate as legitimate. This happens if you have manually added the certificate to your 'Trusted Identities' list, or if it comes from a widely recognized authority. Trust means you believe the signer is who they say they are.
Adding Long-Term Validation (LTV) information is crucial because it helps ensure a digital signature remains valid even after the original signing certificate expires or is revoked. LTV embeds all necessary validation data, like timestamps and certificate status, directly into the document at the time of signing. This makes the signature self-validating in the future, providing proof of its integrity over many years without needing external checks.
If you see a 'Suspected Altered Consent' message, your first step should be to validate the digital signature. Click on the signature to open the validation panel. This will show you exactly what changes were detected in the document since it was signed. Do not trust the document until you understand the nature of the alterations and are satisfied they are legitimate or irrelevant to the consent.
| Action | Purpose | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Verify a Signature | To check if a specific signature on a document is valid and if the document changed after signing. | A report showing the signature's validity status and any detected alterations. |
| Manage Trusted Identities | To tell Acrobat which specific certificates from people or organizations you trust for future signatures. | Signatures from these trusted sources will automatically appear as valid and trusted. |