In short: Signature pad signing captures a handwritten, biometric signature on a pad or tablet at the counter. On its own that is a simple or advanced electronic signature, so the signed document is sealed with a qualified electronic seal, or paired with a QES, to make it tamper-evident and legally robust. It is ideal for face-to-face, on-site processes.
Some agreements are still signed in person: at a bank counter, a dealership, a reception desk or a service point. Signature pad signing keeps that familiar, pen-in-hand moment while making the outcome fully digital. A signature pad or tablet records the customer's handwriting, and the document is then secured with an eIDAS trust service so it cannot be altered afterwards. The result is a paperless, verifiable record that fits neatly into on-site workflows without asking customers to change how they sign.
What signature pad signing captures
A signature pad records more than a picture of a signature. It captures biometric characteristics of the handwriting, the movement, timing and, on capable devices, pressure, as the person signs. This handwritten, biometric signature is bound to the specific document. In eIDAS terms, a captured handwritten signature is typically a simple or advanced electronic signature; the biometric data strengthens attribution to the individual. To guarantee that the document has not changed since signing, signature pad signing adds a cryptographic trust service on top, which is where seals and timestamps come in. This separation of duties, the pen for the person, cryptography for the document, is what makes signature pad signing both intuitive and defensible.
Signature pad signing step by step
A typical on-site flow looks like this:
- The clerk opens the document in the signing application and the customer reviews it on screen.
- The customer signs on the connected signature pad or tablet using a stylus.
- The application captures the handwritten image together with the biometric signing data.
- The biometric data is encrypted and embedded in the document so it can be examined later only by authorised experts.
- The document is sealed with the organisation's qualified electronic seal, locking in its integrity and origin.
- A qualified timestamp records when the document was finalised, and the signed PDF is archived.
Combining handwriting with an eIDAS seal or QES
The handwriting proves who signed; the trust service proves the document is intact. A qualified electronic seal, applied by the organisation, guarantees the document's integrity and origin and makes any later tampering evident. Where the signer holds a qualified certificate, signature pad capture can also be combined with a QES for the highest legal effect on that individual's signature. In both cases a qualified timestamp under RFC 3161 fixes the signing time and supports long-term validation, so the record stays verifiable for years.
Where signature pad signing fits: branch and counter use
Signature pad signing is built for face-to-face moments at scale: account openings and loan documents in banking, purchase and handover forms in retail and automotive, consent and admission forms in healthcare, and any counter where customers already expect to sign by hand. It removes paper, printing and scanning while preserving a natural in-person experience, and because the output is a sealed digital document, it drops straight into the same archives and workflows as your remote signatures. Staff need no special training beyond handing over a stylus, and customers sign exactly as they always have, so adoption is rarely a barrier.
How primesign helps
primesign supports signature pad signing by capturing the handwritten, biometric signature and securing each document with a qualified electronic seal, applied by an Austrian qualified trust service provider on the EU Trusted List. Where signers hold qualified certificates, primesign can combine on-site capture with QES, so your branch and counter processes produce tamper-evident, long-term-verifiable documents alongside your remote signing.
Learn more: Sign with a Signature Pad · primesign Seal · primesign Products