Offer deadlines versus signature round-trips
Candidates accept elsewhere while paperwork bounces through email. The document needs to be signable in two minutes, from a phone, without an account being created.
For people teams and recruiters
Electronic signatures for HR and recruiting teams
Hiring is a chain of signatures with a clock on it. An offer goes out, the candidate signs from their phone, the NDA and IP assignment follow, then policy acknowledgements on day one, then contractor agreements for the contingent workforce. Every delay in that chain costs you a candidate.
The usual answer is a per-seat e-signature platform, which works well and is priced for teams that sign constantly. The difficulty is everything outside that pattern: the occasional contractor, the policy acknowledgement batch, the release agreement, the document a manager needs signed today.
Running those through a browser-based tool costs nothing, needs no account, and avoids piling more candidate personal data into yet another vendor. Candidates sign on the device already in their hand.
Where the friction is
What actually slows signing down in a hiring process
Distinct forms, distinct rules
Offer letters, background check authorisations, and the I-9 each follow different rules. Treating onboarding as one uniform signing problem is where compliance mistakes start.
Contingent workforce sprawl
Contractors and agencies sign sporadically. Per-seat licensing for people who sign twice a year is a poor use of budget.
What you sign
Typical documents
- Offer letters and employment agreements
- Confidentiality and IP assignment agreements
- Policy acknowledgements and handbook receipts
- Contractor and statement-of-work agreements
- Performance review and development plan sign-offs
- Severance and separation agreements
- Background check disclosures and authorisations
- Remote work and equipment agreements
Clear limits
When a signature is not enough
- Form I-9 has its own rules that sit outside ordinary e-signature practice — the form may be completed electronically, but the employer's verification step normally requires physical examination of the employee's documents unless the employer qualifies for and follows DHS's alternative procedure. Check the current DHS rules before changing how you complete it.
- Background check authorisations have specific requirements under the FCRA, including a standalone disclosure and written authorisation. An electronic signature is permitted, but the document structure requirements still apply.
- Any agreement requiring notarisation, such as certain settlement and non-compete instruments in some states.
- State-specific employment rules that impose additional form or delivery requirements.
Three different rulebooks, one onboarding flow
Offer letters and employment agreements fall under ESIGN and the state UETA, and are straightforwardly valid electronically. Background checks are governed by the FCRA, which requires a clear, standalone disclosure and a written authorisation separate from the application — the signature may be electronic, but the structure is not negotiable. Form I-9 is governed by DHS rules, which have their own verification requirements. Treat these as separate documents with separate rules rather than one generic signing step.
How it works
Why nothing leaves your device in a hiring process
The documents in this field are the ones people are least comfortable handing to an unfamiliar service. Our tools process them entirely in the browser.
- 0
- bytes of your document sent anywhere The PDF is opened, modified and saved in your browser tab. There is no upload step in the process.
- None
- upload endpoint to send to This site is generated as static files. There is no API route and no server process, so there is nothing to receive a document even in principle.
- Nothing
- to log into, delete or unshare No account is created, so no server-side copy accumulates. Closing the tab ends the session.
- Yours
- to keep or destroy at any time You save the signed file where you choose. We never hold it, so there is no retention policy to read.
The technical version
PDF pages are rendered and written in the browser with open-source libraries that run entirely on the client. Signature strokes are captured on a canvas, and saved signatures are kept in your browser's own storage — the same mechanism any website uses to remember a preference. None of these components has a network call that transmits a file, and there is no backend for one to reach.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's developer tools, switch to the network tab, and sign a document. You will see the page's own assets load — fonts, scripts, stylesheets — and nothing else. No request carries your document, because none is made.
Where this is not the right tool. Browser-based signing is excellent for documents you sign yourself. It does not send a document to other people, collect their signatures, verify their identity, or produce an audit trail. When a counterparty or a compliance policy requires those things, use a platform built for it — the trade-off is real and worth naming rather than glossing over.
Related
Other industries we cover
FAQ
HR & recruiting teams: common questions
Can I send an offer letter for electronic signature?
Yes. An offer letter is a contract, and under the ESIGN Act and state UETA an electronic signature carries the same effect as a handwritten one. Candidates can sign from a phone without creating an account, which shortens the loop considerably.
Can a new hire sign Form I-9 electronically?
The form itself can be completed and signed electronically, but that does not settle the verification step. Employers normally must physically examine the employee's identity and work authorisation documents, unless they qualify for and follow DHS's alternative procedure. Because those rules change, confirm the current requirements before altering your I-9 process.
Is an electronically signed employment contract enforceable?
Yes, the same way any contract is. The signer must have intended to sign, the signature must be attributable to them, and the record must be retainable and reproducible. Keeping the executed copy is your responsibility.
What are the rules for background check authorisations?
The FCRA requires a clear, conspicuous and standalone disclosure, plus written authorisation from the candidate, before you obtain a consumer report. These cannot be buried in the employment application. An electronic signature satisfies the writing requirement — the standalone disclosure requirement is what you need to get right.
Can contractors sign statements of work remotely?
Yes, and this is one of the better uses for a browser-based tool, since contracting is sporadic. No account is needed on either side, and there is no per-document cap when you need to reissue a statement of work.
Should we use our main platform or a tool like this?
Use your platform for anything needing tracking, reminders or an audit trail. Use this for the documents you sign yourself, are in a hurry to close, and do not want to add another vendor's copy of candidate data to — policy acknowledgements, internal sign-offs, and one-off contractor agreements.