How to Send Advanced Electronic Signatures with BeeSign

Advanced Electronic Signatures (AES) add a layer of identity verification on top of standard electronic signatures — ensuring that each signer is who they claim to be. With BeeSign, enabling AES is as simple as toggling a switch. In this guide, we'll walk you through the entire process of sending a document with Advanced Electronic Signatures — from uploading a PDF to reviewing the completed audit trail. The AES includes ID verification and OTP (email and sms) for added security.

Step 1: Enable Billing from Your Dashboard

After signing in, you'll land on your BeeSign Dashboard. This is your command center — it shows all your documents, their statuses, and quick actions. To get started, click your profile icon button in the top-right corner and click manage billing.

This will take you to your billing details where you can see your current plan, billing history and payment method.

Step 2: Add your payment method

On the next screen, Billing, go to your payment method section and click Add Payment Method to add your card details.

Once added, you can see your payment method details and manage your payment method.

Step 3: Enable Advanced Electronic Signature (Identity Verification)

This is the key step that distinguishes an Advanced Electronic Signature from a standard one. Before sending, choose "Verified Signer" role for the recipients who need to verify their identity. When enabled, each signer will be required to verify their identity through a secure ID verification process before they can access and sign the document.

Identity verification adds a strong layer of signer authentication, meeting the requirements for Advanced Electronic Signatures under regulations like eIDAS. This is especially important for high-value contracts, regulated industries, and cross-border agreements.

Step 4: Choose OTP Method

This is also another key factor that distinguishes an Advanced Electronic Signature from a standard one. When you choose "Verified Signer" role for the recipients, you choose the OTP method for the signer to meet the sole control requirement for the recipient under eIDAS. You can choose either email or sms or TOTP as the OTP method. When the signer receives the OTP code, they need to enter the code in the dialog to verify their email or phone.

Step 5: Review and Sign

Once document is sent for signature, the recipient will receive an email notification with a secure link to view and sign the document. they will click "Review and Sign" to continue.

Step 6: Consent to electronic disclosure

After clicking Review and Sign, BeeSign will display a consent dialog where the signer confirms their consent to electronic disclosure of the document.

Because identity verification is enabled, each signer will be required to verify their identity before they can access the document — adding a critical layer of security and compliance.

Step 7: The Signer Verifies Their Identity

When the recipient consents to the electronic disclosure, they're first taken through a secure identity verification process. This typically involves scanning a government-issued ID (passport, driver's license, or national ID card) and a liveness check to confirm the person behind the screen matches the document.

This verification step is what elevates the signature from a Simple Electronic Signature (SES) to an Advanced Electronic Signature (AES). The signer's identity is cryptographically linked to the signature, providing much stronger legal standing and non-repudiation.

Step 8: Identity Verification status

After the recipient go though the identification process, it goes into one of three statuses (Approved | In Review | Declined). Only when the status is Approved, the signer can proceed to the next step to verify their email/phone and sign the document.

If the identity verification status was In Review, the sender will receive an email with the identity verification report and they can decide whether they want to approve or decline the identity verification result. If the sender approves the identity verification result, the signer will be notified via email and can proceed to the next step to verify their email/sms and sign the document. If the sender declines the identity verification result, the signer will have to redo the identity verification process again.

Step 9: The Signer verifies their email/phone

Once identity verification is complete, the signer is presented with an Email/SMS Verification dialog where the user have to enter the verification code they received through their email/phone.

If the user was prompted to do TOTP verification, they will need to scan the QR code with their TOTP app and enter the 6-digit code generated by the app to verify their identity.

The recipient will receive an email with the verification code (or sms if opted for sms verification), and they need to enter the code in the dialog to verify their email address. This adds an additional layer of security, ensuring that only the intended recipient can access and sign the document.

Step 10: The Signing Experience

Once the signed is verified, he can draw their signature or type it. The process is fast, mobile-friendly, and works on any device — desktop, tablet, or phone.

The completed document includes a strong audit trail that records the identity verification step alongside every other action — giving you maximum legal enforceability.

Step 11: Review the Audit Trail

Every document in BeeSign comes with a comprehensive audit trail — a tamper-proof record of every action taken on the document. For Advanced Electronic Signatures, the audit trail also includes the identity verification result, making it an even more robust legal record.

The audit trail includes:

• ✓Document sent — Exact timestamp when the document was sent to each recipient.
• ✓Identity verified — Confirmation that the signer passed the identity verification check.
• ✓Document viewed — When each recipient first opened the document.
• ✓Electronic disclosure accepted — Confirmation that the signer consented to electronic signing.
• ✓Document signed — The precise moment the signature was applied.
• ✓Document completed — When all signatures were collected and the document was finalized.
• ✓IP addresses — Recorded for each action for additional verification.

Recap: The Full Advanced Electronic Signature Workflow

Let's recap the entire process at a glance:

• 1Enable Billing from your dashboard to start the process.
• 2Add your payment method through the billing console.
• 3Enable identity verification — choose the "Verified Signer" role to require ID verification for signers.
• 4Review and Sign — once the document is sent, signers will receive an email with a link to sign the document.
• 5Consent to electronic signatures — signers must consent to the use of electronic signatures before signing.
• 6Recipients verify their identity — they scan their ID and complete a liveness check before accessing the document.
• 7Recipients verify their email/phone — signers must verify their email address/phone before accessing the document.
• 8The signing experience — signers sign using their typed or draw signature.
• 9Review the audit trail — verify every action including identity verification with timestamps and IP addresses.

Advanced Electronic Signatures provide a higher level of assurance and legal enforceability compared to standard electronic signatures. They're ideal for high-value contracts, regulated industries, and any scenario where you need to be absolutely certain about the signer's identity.

Ready to send your first Advanced Electronic Signature? Sign up for free and experience how easy identity-verified signing can be with BeeSign.