---
title: "Authentication Tokens"
slug: "authentication-tokens"
updated: 2026-05-11T12:00:24Z
published: 2026-05-11T12:00:24Z
canonical: "docs.onespan.com/authentication-tokens"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.onespan.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication Tokens

## Java SDK

To download the full code sample see our [Code Share](https://community.onespan.com/documentation/onespan-sign/codeshare/authentication-tokens-java-sdk/) site.

An authentication token is used to obtain a valid session for a particular user of the system. This topic introduces the following types of authentication tokens:

- *userAuthToken*
- *senderAuthToken*
- *signerAuthToken*
- *singleUseSignerAuthToken*.

With the exception of *signerAuthToken* these tokens are all single-use. The default expiry time for all these tokens is 30 minutes.

An optional Sender Authentication Token feature is also available. Previously, when you requested a sender authentication token, you needed to specify a transaction ID. The sender authentication token that was then generated could have been used to access that specific transaction or any other transaction available to the sender. Using a Sender Authentication token you can also restrict the access rights of the sender to just the transaction used to generate it. To enable this feature, contact our [Support Team](https://www.onespan.com/support).

### The Code

#### User Authentication Tokens

A user authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a user with complete access to the account. The following code will create a user authentication token:

```java
 // Generate a user authentication token using the eSignLive client
String userAuthToken = eslClient
    .getAuthenticationTokensService()  // Access the authentication tokens service
    .createUserAuthenticationToken();  // Create a new user authentication token
```

Using the user authentication token, you can access your OneSpan Sign account by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/auth?authenticationToken={userToken}&target=https://sandbox.esignlive.com/a/dashboard`

#### Sender Authentication Tokens

A sender authentication token is token that can be used to obtain a session for a sender with access only to a specific package.The following code will create a sender authentication token:

```java
// Generate a sender authentication token using the eSignLive client
String senderAuthToken = eslClient
    .getAuthenticationTokensService()  // Access the authentication tokens service
    .createsenderAuthenticationToken(packageId);  // Create a new sender authentication token for the specified package
```

Using the sender authentication token, you can access the package by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/auth?senderAuthenticationToken={senderToken}&target=https://sandbox.esignlive.com/a/transaction/{packageId}/designer`

#### Signer Authentication Tokens

A signer authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a signer with access to the [Signer Experience](/v1/docs/signer-experience-settings).The following code will create a signer authentication token:

```java
// Generate a signer authentication token using the eSignLive client
String signerAuthToken = eslClient
    .getAuthenticationTokensService()  // Access the authentication tokens service
    .createSignerAuthenticationToken(packageId, signerId);  // Create a new signer authentication token for the specified package and signer
```

The signer token above can be used multiple times.You can also create a signer token with a single use:

```java
// Generate a single-use authentication token for a signer
String singleUseToken = eslClient
    // Access the authentication tokens service from the client
    .getAuthenticationTokensService()
    // Create a single-use authentication token for the specified signer in the given package
    .createSignerAuthenticationTokenForSingleUse(packageId, signerId, signerSessionFields);
```

Using the signer authentication token, you can obtain a signing session by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/access?sessionToken={signerAuthToken}`

## .NET SDK

To download the full code sample see our [Code Share](https://community.onespan.com/documentation/onespan-sign/codeshare/authentication-tokens-net-sdk/) site.

An authentication token is used to obtain a valid session for a particular user of the system. This topic introduces the following types of authentication tokens:

- *userAuthToken*
- *senderAuthToken*
- *signerAuthToken*
- *singleUseSignerAuthToken*.

With the exception of *signerAuthToken* these tokens are all single-use. The default expiry time for all these tokens is 30 minutes.

An optional Sender Authentication Token feature is also available. Previously, when you requested a sender authentication token, you needed to specify a transaction ID. The sender authentication token that was then generated could have been used to access that specific transaction or any other transaction available to the sender. Using a Sender Authentication token you can also restrict the access rights of the sender to just the transaction used to generate it. To enable this feature, contact our [Support Team](https://www.onespan.com/support).

### The Code

#### User Authentication Tokens

A user authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a user with complete access to the account. The following code will create a user authentication token:

```csharp
string userAuthToken = eslClient
    .AuthenticationTokenService
    .CreateUserAuthenticationToken();
```

Using the user authentication token, you can access your OneSpan Sign account by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/auth?authenticationToken={userToken}&target=https://sandbox.esignlive.com/a/dashboard`

#### Sender Authentication Tokens

A sender authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a sender with access only to a specific package. The following code will create a sender authentication token:

```csharp
 string senderAuthToken = eslClient
    .AuthenticationTokenService
    .CreateSenderAuthenticationToken(new PackageId(packageId));
```

Using the sender authentication token, you can access the transaction by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/auth?senderAuthenticationToken={senderToken}&target=https://sandbox.esignlive.com/a/transaction/{packageId}/designer`

#### Signer Authentication Tokens

A signer authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a signer with access to the [Signer Experience](/v1/docs/signer-experience-settings).The following code will create a signer authentication token:

```csharp
string signerAuthToken = eslClient
    .AuthenticationTokenService
    .CreateSignerAuthenticationToken(new PackageId(packageId), signerId);
```

The signer token above can be used multiple times.You can also create a signer token with a single use:

```csharp
string singleUseToken = eslClient
    .AuthenticationTokensService
    .CreateSignerAuthenticationTokenForSingleUse(packageId, signerId, signerSessionFields);
```

Using the signer authentication token, you can obtain a signing session by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/access?sessionToken={signerAuthToken}`

## REST API

To download the full code sample see our [Code Share](https://community.onespan.com/documentation/onespan-sign/codeshare/authentication-tokens-rest-api/) site.

An authentication token is used to obtain a valid session for a particular user of the system. This topic introduces the following types of authentication tokens:

- *userAuthToken*
- *senderAuthToken*
- *signerAuthToken*
- *singleUseSignerAuthToken*.

With the exception of *signerAuthToken* these tokens are all single-use. The default expiry time for all these tokens is 30 minutes.

An optional Sender Authentication Token feature is also available. Previously, when you requested a sender authentication token, you needed to specify a transaction ID. The sender authentication token that was then generated could have been used to access that specific transaction or any other transaction available to the sender. Using a Sender Authentication token you can also restrict the access rights of the sender to just the transaction used to generate it. To enable this feature, contact our [Support Team](https://www.onespan.com/support).

### The Code

#### User Authentication Tokens

A user authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a user with complete access to the account. The following code will create a user authentication token:

#### HTTP Request

`POST /api/authenticationTokens/user`

#### HTTP Headers

```http
Accept: application/json   
Authorization: Basic api_key
```

For a complete description of each field, see the Request Payload table below.

#### Response Payload

```json
{
    "value": "MjY0MjQ4MzgtMTJlOS00MzhjLTgzODMtMzJmMGNiZTg3ODBl"
}
```

Using the user authentication token, you can access your OneSpan Sign account by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/auth?authenticationToken={userToken}&target=https://sandbox.esignlive.com/a/dashboard`

#### Sender Authentication Tokens

A sender authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a sender with access only to a specific package. The following code will create a sender authentication token:

#### HTTP Request

`POST /api/authenticationTokens/sender`

#### HTTP Headers

```http
Accept: application/json   
Content-Type: application/json   
Authorization: Basic api_key
```

#### Request Payload

```http
{
    "packageId": "5vjLRY5MWrDJ6MzRAEyCKOy5IH0="
}
```

#### Response Payload

```json
{
     "packageId": "5vjLRY5MWrDJ6MzRAEyCKOy5IH0=""value": "MjY0MjQ4MzgtMTJlOS00MzhjLTgzODMtMzJmMGNiZTg3ODBl"
}
```

Using the sender authentication token, you can access the transaction by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/auth?senderAuthenticationToken={senderToken}&target=https://sandbox.esignlive.com/a/transaction/{packageId}/designer`

#### Signer Authentication Tokens

A signer authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a signer with access to the [Signer Experience](/v1/docs/signer-experience-settings). The following code will create a signer authentication token:

#### HTTP Request

`POST /api/authenticationTokens/signer/multiUse`

#### HTTP Headers

```http
Accept: application/json   
Content-Type: application/json   
Authorization: Basic api_key
```

#### Request Payload

```http
{
    "packageId": "5vjLRY5MWrDJ6MzRAEyCKOy5IH0=","signerId": "8b734331-bc5b-4843-9784-d4ece4b7dc22"
}
```

#### Response Payload

```json
{
    "packageId": "5vjLRY5MWrDJ6MzRAEyCKOy5IH0=","signerId": "8b734331-bc5b-4843-9784-d4ece4b7dc22",
    "value": "ZDNmMDNiNGUtNGYxOC00YWZiLTkwMmUtNWE5YmIwZTRjZDg1"
}
```

The signer token above can be used multiple times. You can also create a signer token with a single use:

#### HTTP Request

`POST /api/authenticationTokens/signer/singleUse`

#### HTTP Headers

```http
Accept: application/json   
Content-Type: application/json   
Authorization: Basic api_key
```

#### Request Payload

```http
 {   "packageId":"s-wy6PFASBlAKfnLJjcbzoaMyTg=","signerId":"cd9lbzvjgblygdncdz3x@esignlive.com"   }
```

#### Response Payload

```json
{
    "packageId": "s-wy6PFASBlAKfnLJjcbzoaMyTg=","signerId": "cd9lbzvjgblygdncdz3x@esignlive.com"
}
```

Using the signer authentication token, you can obtain a signing session by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/access?sessionToken={signerAuthToken}`

### Request Payload Table

| Property | Type | Editable | Required | Default | Sample Values |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| packageID | string | No | No | n/a | 5vjLRY5MWrDJ6MzRAEyCKOy5IH0= |
| signerId | string | Yes | No | n/a | 8b734331-bc5b-4843-9784-d4ece4b7dc22 |
| value | string | No | No | n/a | ZDNmMDNiNGUtNGYxOC00YWZiLTkwMmUtNWE5YmIwZTRjZDg1 |

## APEX SDK

To download the full code sample see our [Code Share](https://community.onespan.com/documentation/onespan-sign/codeshare/authentication-tokens-apex-sdk/) site.

An authentication token is used to obtain a valid session for a particular user of the system. This topic introduces the following types of authentication tokens:

- *userAuthToken*
- *senderAuthToken*
- *signerAuthToken*
- *singleUseSignerAuthToken*.

With the exception of *signerAuthToken* these tokens are all single-use. The default expiry time for all these tokens is 30 minutes.

An optional Sender Authentication Token feature is also available. Previously, when you requested a sender authentication token, you needed to specify a transaction ID. The sender authentication token that was then generated could have been used to access that specific transaction or any other transaction available to the sender. Using a Sender Authentication token you can also restrict the access rights of the sender to just the transaction used to generate it. To enable this feature, contact our [Support Team](https://www.onespan.com/support).

#### The Code

#### User Authentication Tokens

A user authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a user with complete access to the account. The following code will create a user authentication token:

```plaintext
 public String createUserAuthenticationToken() {
    // Your implementation here
}
```

Using the user authentication token, you can access your OneSpan Sign account by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/auth?authenticationToken={userToken}&target=https://sandbox.esignlive.com/a/dashboard`

#### Sender Authentication Tokens

A sender authentication token is token that can be used to obtain a session for a sender with access only to a specific package. The following code will create a sender authentication token:

```plaintext
public String createsenderAuthenticationToken(String packageId) {
    // Your implementation here
}
```

Using the sender authentication token, you can access the transaction by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/auth?senderAuthenticationToken={senderToken}&target=https://sandbox.esignlive.com/a/transaction/{packageId}/designer`

#### Signer Authentication Tokens

A signer authentication token is a token that can be used to obtain a session for a signer with access to the [Signer Experience](/v1/docs/signer-experience-settings). The following code will create a signer authentication token:

```plaintext
 public String createSignerAuthenticationTokenForMultiUse(String packageId, String signerId)
```

The signer token above can be used multiple times. You can also create a signer token with a single use:

```plaintext
public String createSignerAuthenticationTokenForMultiUse(String packageId, String signerId) {
    // Your implementation here
}
```

Signer ID in this function can also be replaced by Signer Email.Using the signer authentication token, you can obtain a signing session by building the following URL:

`https://sandbox.esignlive.com/access?sessionToken={signerAuthToken}`