Two parties claim to have signed a contract on different days. The contract has different terms in each story. A trusted timestamp would have settled this in a sentence.
What a timestamp does
A trusted timestamp binds a signing event to a specific moment in time, attested by a third-party Time Stamping Authority (TSA). The TSA's timestamp is cryptographically signed, anchoring the event to its calendar time.
Without a trusted timestamp, the signing time is whatever the signer's clock said — easy to dispute or falsify. With one, the time is independently verifiable.
When it matters
Patent filings, regulatory submissions, contracts with strict execution windows, intellectual property disclosures, financial transactions with time-sensitive terms.
For everyday business contracts, the platform's own audit trail timestamp is usually enough. Trusted timestamps (RFC 3161, eIDAS qualified timestamps) are for cases where you need third-party attestation of time.
How they integrate with signatures
A digital signature can embed a TSA timestamp at the moment of signing. Many qualified electronic signature workflows do this automatically.
For electronic signatures via Flint's signing tool, timestamps are recorded in the audit trail. For independently trusted timestamps, signing must route through a qualified TSA — usually as part of a QES workflow rather than a basic e-signature.
FAQ
Is a Flint signing timestamp a 'qualified' timestamp?
No — it's a platform timestamp, recorded in the audit trail. Sufficient for most commercial signing; for qualified timestamps under eIDAS, use a qualified TSA.
How accurate are TSA timestamps?
Down to the second, anchored to UTC via authoritative time sources. Reputable TSAs publish their accuracy and audit reports.
Do I need a timestamp if I have an audit trail?
The audit trail records the time. A trusted timestamp adds third-party attestation. For most contracts, audit trail alone is sufficient.
Can a timestamp be retroactively added?
No. The timestamp is bound to the signing event at the moment it happened. Adding one later requires re-signing with the new timestamp.
If 'when' matters for your document, use a tool that timestamps. Flint records the time on every signing.