Electronic signature vs digital signature: what is the difference, and which one do I need?

An electronic signature is any mark or process you attach to a document with the intent to sign, such as a typed name or a signature drawn on your phone. A digital signature is one technical kind of electronic signature: it uses a certificate and public-key cryptography to prove who signed and to reveal any change made after signing.

Is a signature drawn on a PDF legally binding?

In many cases, yes. The U.S. ESIGN Act says a signature may not be denied legal effect only because it is electronic, and the EU eIDAS regulation has a similar rule. Wills, family-law papers, court documents and some notices are excluded in the U.S., and a recipient can ask for a specific format. This is general information, not legal advice.

Is an e-signature the same as a digital signature?

No. An e-signature is the broad category: a drawn signature, a typed name or a click on an I agree button can all qualify. A digital signature is one way to make an e-signature, using a certificate and cryptography. Every digital signature is an electronic signature, but most electronic signatures are not digital signatures.

Do I need a digital signature certificate?

Only when the requester asks for one. A landlord, school or client usually wants a visible signature on the right line. A bank, tax office or government portal may require a certificate-based signature and will tell you which certificate or service to use.

Is a scanned signature an electronic signature?

It can be. The U.S. ESIGN Act defines an electronic signature as a sound, symbol or process attached to a record and adopted with the intent to sign, and an image of your handwritten signature can fit that definition. It does not prove who placed it, so some senders do not accept it.

Electronic signature vs digital signature

An email from your landlord says "please e-sign and return by Friday". A week later, a benefits portal asks for a "digitally signed PDF". The two requests sound alike, but the electronic signature vs digital signature difference decides which tool you need and whether a signature you draw on your phone counts.

Why the difference between electronic and digital signatures matters

The difference matters because the wrong kind of signature sends the form back to you. A landlord who asked for an electronic signature wants your mark on the line, and a certificate would confuse them. A portal that asked for a digital signature checks the file with software, and a drawn signature fails that check however neat it looks.

Most paperwork that reaches a renter, a parent or a freelancer is the first kind. Leases, school permission slips, consent forms and client contracts usually need a visible signature, your printed name and a date. The second kind shows up with tax filings, some bank processes and government services, and the requester normally names the tool you must use.

Two ideas: a legal intent and a cryptographic method

An electronic signature is a legal idea. The federal ESIGN Act defines it as "an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record". A typed name, a signature drawn with your finger and a click on "I agree" can all qualify, because the intent to sign is what counts.

A digital signature is a technical method. The Wikipedia article on digital signatures describes it as public-key cryptography: the signer uses a secret private key, anyone can verify with the matching public key, and a certificate authority vouches that the key belongs to that person. Changing the file after signing breaks the verification, and the same article notes that not all electronic signatures use digital signatures.

A hand signs a paper document with a pen, an iPhone lies beside it

How to tell which signature a document needs, step by step

You can work out which signature a document needs in a few minutes, before you open any app. Follow these steps in order and stop as soon as one gives a clear answer.

Read the request word for word. "Sign and return", "e-sign" or "electronic signature" almost always means a visible signature on the PDF. "Digitally sign", "digital ID", "certificate" or "qualified signature" means the cryptographic kind.
Check who asks. A landlord, school, clinic or small client usually accepts a drawn signature. A bank, tax office, court or government portal more often has fixed rules and its own signing tool.
Look at the PDF itself. A plain line that says "Signature" takes a drawn signature. A signature field that opens a "sign with a digital ID" dialog in a desktop PDF reader, or instructions to upload a certificate, means you need a certificate.
Ask when the request is vague. One short reply, "Is a signature drawn on my phone OK, or do you need a certificate-based one?", saves a rejected form. Requirements vary by country and by document, and the sender decides what they accept.
Pick the tool that matches. For an electronic signature, a phone app that draws your signature on the PDF is enough. For a digital signature, use the portal the requester names or a certificate-based signing tool.
Sign, date and send. Add your signature, printed name and date, check every page, and send the file the way the requester asked.

Get MRS: scan, sign and search your papers

Scanner with automatic edges, text recognition (OCR) for searchable PDFs, a PDF editor and saved signatures, on your iPhone. Your pages stay on your device.

Get the app

MRS covers the everyday case from step 5 on an iPhone. "Sign document" scans a paper form or imports a PDF and opens the editor ready to sign; you draw with your finger in black or blue ink, then place, move, resize and rotate the signature on any page. The text tool adds the date and your name in 7 fonts at sizes 12 to 48, and the full walkthrough is in how to sign a PDF on iPhone.

The part people get wrong: the word "digital"

People often read "digital" as "on a computer" and assume any signature on a PDF is a digital signature. In the technical sense it is not: a signature image placed on a page is an electronic signature, even when you draw it on a screen. If the requester means a certificate, a drawn signature will not pass their check, so confirm which meaning they use.

Electronic signature vs digital signature vs handwritten signature

The three signatures differ in how they work and in what they prove to the person who receives the document.

Type	How it works	What it proves	Typical use	What you need
Electronic signature	A drawn or typed signature, or a click, attached to the document with intent to sign	That you adopted the mark as your signature; the proof of who placed it depends on context	Leases, school forms, client contracts, consent forms	A PDF app or the sender's signing link
Digital signature	Cryptography with a private key and a certificate from a certificate authority	Which certificate signed, and whether the file changed after signing	Tax and government portals, some bank and legal processes	A digital ID or certificate and software that supports it
Handwritten (wet) signature	Ink on paper	That you signed this physical sheet; experts can compare handwriting	Wills, notarized papers, documents the law excludes from e-signing	Paper, a pen and often a witness or notary

Where the EU tiers fit in

The EU eIDAS regulation splits electronic signatures into three levels. A simple electronic signature is any electronic signature; an advanced one is uniquely linked to the signer and detects later changes; a qualified one adds a qualified certificate and a certified signing device, as the eIDAS overview summarizes. The European Commission states that "Qualified eSignatures have the same legal effect as hand written signatures".

Tips for signing documents safely

Safe signing starts with knowing what you sign and ends with proof of what you sent. These habits work for both kinds of signature.

Read before you sign: scroll every page, including the small print on the last one. A signature on page 6 often refers to terms on page 2.
Sign the newest version: a reply in an old email thread can carry last month's draft. Check the dates and names on page one.
Keep sensitive papers on your device: IDs, medical forms and contracts do not need a stop in someone else's cloud. MRS stores documents on the iPhone, keeps your newest 5 signatures there with iOS file protection, needs no account and does not upload your pages.
Send the PDF, not a screenshot: a screenshot drops the other pages and makes the text blurry. Share the file itself.

For the basics of placing text and images on a PDF, see PDF editing basics on mobile.

A thumb on an iPhone held above a contract page on a desk

A rule: keep the copy you sent

Save the exact file you sent, with the date in its name, for example "Lease renewal signed 2026-10-09". If a dispute starts, that copy shows what you agreed to and when. In MRS the signed PDF stays in your library, and search finds it later by the words inside the scanned pages.

How to check a signature

You can check most signatures in a minute with the file and a desktop PDF reader. Ask these questions.

Visible mark: is there a signature, a printed name and a date on every line the form asks for?
Right document: do the names, address and dates on page one match the deal you agreed to?
Valid certificate: for a digital signature, does the reader's signature panel or banner report a valid signature from a trusted certificate, or does it say "unknown" or "invalid"?
Changed after signing: does the reader report that the document was modified after it was signed? A digital signature is built to reveal such a change.
Signer identity: for a digital signature, does the name in the certificate match the person who should have signed?

A workable test before you send

Open your signed PDF on a second device, such as a laptop, before you send it. Check that the signature sits on the line at a natural size, that every page is there and that the date reads clearly. If you added a digital signature through a portal, open the downloaded file and confirm the reader shows the signature as valid.

Common mistakes with electronic and digital signatures

Most rejected forms fail on details that are easy to fix before you press send.

Assuming one rule fits every document: the U.S. ESIGN Act gives electronic signatures legal effect in general, yet it excludes wills, adoption and divorce matters, court documents and notices such as eviction or utility shut-off. Ask the sender when the document is unusual.
Sending a drawn signature to a certificate check: a portal that wants a digital signature rejects an image of your handwriting. Use the portal's own signing step instead.
Editing after a digital signature: adding a note or a page after signing breaks the signature check. Make every change first, then sign last.
Forgetting the state law layer: besides ESIGN, most U.S. states follow the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, which 49 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted. Rules can differ for regulated documents, so the sender's instructions come first.
Skipping the date and printed name: many forms ask for all three on one line. Add them with a text tool next to the signature.

Edge case: a scanned wet signature

A scanned wet signature is a photo of ink you put on paper, placed into a PDF. Under the ESIGN definition it can count as an electronic signature, because a symbol adopted with the intent to sign qualifies. It proves nothing about who placed it and anyone can copy the image, so some banks and employers refuse it; if you need a paper form signed in ink, sign it, then follow how to scan documents on iPhone for a sharp PDF.

Your signature checklist and next steps

Your signature checklist has five checks, and it takes a minute before you sign anything that arrived by email.

Request type: does it say e-sign or digitally sign?
Requester: a landlord, school or client, or a bank or government portal?
Tool: a drawn signature on the PDF, or the portal's certificate-based signing?
Complete form: signature, printed name and date on every line, every page checked.
Saved copy: the exact file you sent, named with the date.

For the everyday electronic signature, MRS turns your iPhone into the whole kit: scan or import, sign with your finger, add the date and keep the signed copy in a searchable library. For a certificate-based digital signature, use the tool your requester names. Download MRS, read how it handles your files in the privacy policy, or contact MRS support with questions about the app.

Electronic vs digital signature: what is the difference?

Key takeaways