You scanned your wet-ink signature years ago and now drop the image onto every PDF you need to sign. It looks like the real thing, the counterparty seems happy, and it's quick. Is it legally valid?
The legal position
Yes. Under ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS and equivalents, an image of a signature pasted onto a document is a valid electronic signature provided you applied it with intent. The act of placing the image is the signing act.
Courts treat scanned signatures consistently with typed or drawn signatures — they're at the SES level, which is sufficient for the vast majority of commercial contracts.
Where photos go wrong
Provenance is the risk. Anyone with a copy of the image file can paste it onto any document — a stolen signature image is easier to misuse than a typed or drawn signature created in a signing tool.
If your signature image is in your email, on your old laptop, attached to a document on a shared drive, it's potentially accessible to someone who shouldn't have it. Storing it in a password-protected vault or using a fresh draw-on-the-fly signature in Flint's signing tool reduces this risk.
Audit trail still matters
A pasted image on a Word doc with no audit trail is weaker evidence than the same image applied via a signing platform that records IP, timestamp and document hash.
If you use an image signature, do it inside Flint's signing tool — Flint records the signing event and binds the image to the document with integrity protection. That's miles ahead of dropping the image into a PDF editor with no record.
When to retire a signature image
If you suspect your image has been shared or stolen, generate a fresh signature for future documents. Old documents signed with the compromised image are still valid (the contract was executed in good faith), but new signings should use a new image — or move to drawn or typed signatures with no reusable image.
For very high-value contracts, consider Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signatures, which bind to identity beyond what an image can.
FAQ
Can a forged signature image invalidate a contract?
If proven forged, yes — the contract becomes voidable. Audit trails help prove the difference between a legitimate signing and a misuse of an image.
Is a signature image more or less secure than a drawn one?
Roughly equivalent if applied through a signing platform with audit trail. Standalone (just pasted into a PDF), the image is weaker because it's reusable.
Should I keep my signature image private?
Yes — treat it like a password. Stored insecurely, it can be misused; stored in a vault, it's fine.
Can I use a signature image in court?
Yes, with the audit trail showing it was applied with intent in the relevant signing event. Courts have upheld scanned signatures extensively.
Image signatures are valid, with care. Apply yours in Flint so the audit trail does the heavy lifting.