Using Externally Signed Documents

This release is just a Beta version, and should be used for testing purposes only. We strongly discourage using this feature in a Production environment.

You can use OneSpan Sign to sign documents that were electronically signed by an external solution other than OneSpan Sign before they were added to a OneSpan Sign transaction.

To do this, when you create a transaction that has an externally signed document, you must identify it using the externalSigned flag.

The following code will do this:

"external": {
    "id": "string",
    "provider": "string",
    "providerName": "string",
    "data": {
      "additionalProp1": {},
      "additionalProp2": {},
      "additionalProp3": {}
    }
  },

This flag is disabled by default. To enable this feature, please contact our Support Team.

Limitations

Note the following limitations:

• The following are not support: protected documents, watermarked documents,  optional signatures, Accept-only, Autofields, Text Fields, Custom Fields, imprint fields, Fast Track transactions, or Accessibility Enabled transactions.

• It is available only via the API – not yet via the New User Experience.

• Enabling or disabling the externalSigned flag won’t impact inflight transactions. For example, if the flag is disabled and a Sender then drafts a transaction or sends it for signing, subsequently enabling the flag won’t enable this feature for that transaction.

• OneSpan Sign cannot modify the security permissions on an externally signed PDF without invalidating the PDF's applied signatures. Thus when OneSpan Sign receives an externally signed and secured PDF, it must first verify that the PDF’s settings will permit OneSpan Sign to apply its own signatures in the usual way.

• OneSpan Sign does not yet confirm that a document uploaded with the externalSigned flag has: (a) at least one signature; (b) at least one externally applied signature. This issue will be resolved in a future release.    

• Before OneSpan Sign can sign an externally signed document, normally both of the following conditions must be met: (a) the feature must be enabled in OneSpan Sign BackOffice; (b) the document must be identified using the externalSigned flag. However, the feature will currently work if only that second condition is met (and the transaction is in the state DRAFT). This issue will be resolved in a future release.