Audit trail and sealed PDFs · Autessa Document Signing
Tamper-evident audit trail
Every Autessa e-signature envelope carries a complete, cryptographically chained audit trail. Each event (created, sent, viewed, signed, reminded, delegated, rejected, sealed, downloaded, voided, shared and more) records who, from which IP address and browser, and when, and each row hashes into the next, so removing or altering an entry breaks the chain.
The problem it solves
An audit log is only as good as its integrity
When a signature is disputed, the question is not just what the log says but whether anyone could have changed it. A plain list of events in a database can be edited. A hash chain cannot be edited quietly: Autessa checks the chain and shows Chain verified, or Chain compromised if it ever fails.
What you get
- Every event on an envelope is recorded with the event type, the recipient it concerns, the actor’s email, IP address, browser and timestamp.
- Rows are cryptographically chained: each row’s hash covers the one before it.
- The audit panel shows a Chain verified badge when the chain validates, and Chain compromised if it ever does not.
- Events include created, prefill set, fields set, recipients set, sent, viewed, signed, rejected, sealed, sealed by owner, downloaded, voided, expired, link rotated, reminder sent, completed, viewer copy sent, shared, unshared, sharing level changed, ownership transferred and delegated.
- Downloads are recorded with who took them.
- The trail is summarized in the Certificate of Completion and included in the in-progress copy.
- Scripts, the API and the CLI read the same trail with envelope get.
How it works
Tamper-evident audit trail, step by step
Every action writes an event
Senders, signers, viewers and the system all generate events as they act.
Each event is chained
The new row’s hash includes the previous row’s hash.
The chain is checked
The envelope page verifies the chain and shows the result as a badge.
It travels with the document
The Certificate of Completion summarizes the signing record in the sealed PDF.
Every option
What each audit row holds
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sequence | Position in the envelope’s chain. |
| Event type | One of the events listed above. |
| Recipient | Which signer or viewer it concerns, if any. |
| Actor email | Who did it. |
| IP address and browser | Where it came from. |
| Timestamp | When it happened. |
| Row hash | The chained hash that makes tampering visible. |
| Chain status | Chain verified or Chain compromised. |
Permissions
Who can do what?
| Who | Can |
|---|---|
| READ | View the envelope and its audit trail; download the in-progress copy or sealed PDF. |
| PUBLISH | Also direct links, reminders, resend, void and mark as executed. |
| ADMIN (and the owner) | Also share, unshare, transfer ownership and delete eligible envelopes. |
| Signer | Generates their own events (viewed, signed, delegated, rejected) but never sees the sender’s workspace. |
Connected
How it connects to the rest of Document Signing
Document Signing feature
PAdES signatures
Tamper evidence inside the PDF itself.
Document Signing feature
Certificate of Completion
The signing record in the sealed PDF.
Document Signing feature
Sharing
Every share and unshare is on the trail too.
Autessa product
Autessa Security
How Autessa protects the platform this runs on.
FAQ
Tamper-evident audit trail: questions and answers
What does the e-signature audit trail record?
Every event on the envelope, from creation to sealing, with the actor’s email, IP address, browser and timestamp.
How do I know the audit trail has not been edited?
Rows are cryptographically chained, so changing or removing one breaks the chain. The envelope shows Chain verified when it validates.
Are downloads recorded?
Yes. Every download is an event on the audit trail, including who took it.
100% customizable, code and all
Make Autessa Document Signing fully your own.
Use it out of the box, then change anything. Ask Autobot, Autessa’s AI builder, for a new field, screen, report, workflow or agent and it builds it into your copy of the app. Or open the code and edit it yourself. Nothing is locked: the app, its data and its code are yours.
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