How do I know if a digital signature in my document is valid?

Open your PDF document in Adobe Acrobat. Click on the 'Signatures' panel on the left side. Right-click on the specific digital signature you want to check. Select 'Validate Signature' from the menu to see its status.

What is a trusted identity and why does it matter for digital signatures?

A trusted identity refers to a digital certificate that you have chosen to trust in Adobe Acrobat. It matters because Acrobat uses this trust to decide if a digital signature is valid. If you trust the certificate of the person who signed the document, Acrobat can confirm their identity and that the document has not been changed since they signed it. Managing trusted identities helps you control who you believe is authentic.

If a digital signature says 'valid but with warnings', what should I do?

First, check the warning details. It might be about the certificate's trust or a timestamp issue. Next, try to verify the certificate information. Make sure it comes from a known and reliable source. Consider adding the signer's certificate to your list of trusted identities if you know and trust them. If the warning is about long-term validity, add LTV information to make the signature self-validating over time.

Why is it important to add Long Term Validation (LTV) information to a digital signature?

Adding Long Term Validation (LTV) information to a digital signature is important because it helps the signature stay valid far into the future. Without LTV, a signature might become invalid if the signer's certificate expires or is revoked. LTV embeds all the necessary information, like timestamps and revocation status, directly into the PDF, making the signature self-validating over a long period, even without external checks.

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

Action Purpose Outcome. Verifying a signature To check if a specific digital signature on a document is valid, who signed it, and if its certificate is trusted at that moment. You get an immediate status report on the signature's validity and integrity. Managing trusted identities To tell Adobe Acrobat which digital certificates you personally trust, so it can use this information for future signature validations. You build a list of trusted signers, making future signature verifications smoother and more reliable based on your preferences.

Validate signatures in bulk for multiple PDFs in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

3 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Please validate all digital signatures in these PDFs: [file list]…+

Please validate all digital signatures in these PDFs: [list the PDF files or folders here].

when the reply comes backWould you like to save a report of the validation results?

BImprove — “do it better”Can you highlight any PDFs without valid signatures in this group: [file list]…+

Can you highlight any PDFs without valid or missing signatures in this group: [list the PDF files or folders here]?

when the reply comes backNeed help sending the validated PDFs to someone?

CDecide — “help me choose”Should I use Acrobat or another tool to check signatures in bulk?…+

Should I use Adobe Acrobat or another tool to validate digital signatures in many PDFs at once? Which is easier and more reliable for my needs?

when the reply comes backWant to learn how to spot fake digital signatures?

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

PDFA common file type used to share documents that look the same everywhere.ExampleShe saved the brochure as a PDF so everyone would see the exact same layout and fonts.

Signature ValidationChecking if a digital signature on a document is real and not changed.ExampleThe software performs Signature Validation to ensure the digital signature hasn't been tampered with.

BulkDoing something to many files at the same time.ExampleWe used the software to bulk convert hundreds of image files into PDFs simultaneously.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

Finance asked for an audit trail today and I need to confirm every agreement has auditable timestamps.

FAQ

about this task

To validate digital signatures in many PDFs, you can use Adobe Acrobat’s batch processing tools. This lets you check all the signatures at once, instead of opening each file one by one.

Validating a signature means checking if the digital signature is real, trusted, and has not been changed since it was signed. This helps make sure the document is safe and official.

Yes, when you validate signatures in bulk, Adobe Acrobat can show you which files have missing or invalid signatures. This makes it easy to spot any problems quickly.

Adobe Acrobat is often easier and more reliable for checking many signatures at once, especially if you need official results or reports. Free tools may work, but they might not catch every problem or be as user-friendly.

Validating signatures in bulk saves time and helps you make sure all your documents are safe and signed correctly, especially when you have a lot of files to check.

Validate signatures in bulk for multiple PDFs

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help