What an e-signature certificate records by country
What Achekam's signing certificate records about each signer and the document, and how its legal wording reads in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
When a document is signed on paper, the evidence is the paper: the ink, the initials on each page, perhaps a witness. When a document is signed electronically, the evidence is a record of what happened, and the quality of that record decides how well the signature stands up if anyone questions it later.
That record is the completion certificate. Every document signed through Achekam comes back with one, filed alongside the signed PDF. This article explains what the certificate records, what its legal wording says, and an important difference for businesses in Nigeria and Kenya.
How a document gets signed
Any document can be sent for electronic signature from Achekam, whether it is an uploaded PDF, a document composed from text blocks with merge fields, or a saved template. You place signature and initials fields on it, choose whether signers sign in order or all at once, and can set an expiry and reminders.
Signers do not need an Achekam account. Each signer signs from a link e-mailed to them, and by default those links last 30 days. An envelope with a signer from outside the business must be linked to a client or a CRM lead before it is sent, so every external signature belongs to a known customer record.
When everyone has signed, the signed PDF and the completion certificate are filed back into Documents.
What the certificate records about each signer
For each signer, the completion certificate lists:
- the signer's e-mail address;
- the times recorded for their signing;
- the IP address they signed from;
- the browser they used.
Together, those details describe how each signature came about. If a signer later says they never signed, the certificate shows the e-mail address, times, IP address and browser recorded for that signature. It does not prove identity in the way checking an identity document in person would, which is why it matters that documents go to e-mail addresses you know belong to the right people.
The document's fingerprint
The certificate also records the document's fingerprint. A fingerprint is a short value worked out from the exact content of the file. Change anything in the document, even a single character, and the fingerprint no longer matches.
That is what ties the signatures to one specific version of the document. If two copies of an agreement turn up later and differ, the fingerprint on the certificate shows which of them is the version that was signed. Keep the signed PDF exactly as it was filed. A copy that has been edited, or printed and scanned back in, will not match the fingerprint, so the filed original is your best evidence.
South Africa: simple electronic signatures under the ECTA
Achekam's e-signatures are simple electronic signatures. The certificate cites section 13 of South Africa's Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, and it states that they are not advanced electronic signatures. You can read section 13 of the ECT Act itself, which sets out when an electronic signature is valid and when the law requires an advanced electronic signature.
That wording is accurate and should not be stretched. Do not describe Achekam signatures to customers, counterparties or courts as advanced or qualified signatures. Where a law or a contract calls for an advanced electronic signature, or for a signature in ink, a simple electronic signature from Achekam is not the right tool, however convenient it is.
Nigerian and Kenyan workspaces: the wording still cites the ECTA
At the time of writing, the completion certificate always describes the signatures under South Africa's Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, whatever the workspace's country. A Nigerian or Kenyan business therefore receives a certificate whose legal description refers to South African law.
The factual record is the same in every country: the signers' e-mail addresses, times, IP addresses and browsers, and the document's fingerprint. It is only the legal wording that is South African. If you are in Nigeria or Kenya:
- Ask your lawyer how your country's law treats electronic signatures for the kinds of documents you send.
- Explain the certificate's wording to counterparties if they ask, rather than letting it cause confusion.
- Keep the certificate with the signed PDF; the facts it records are useful whatever law applies.
- For documents where the legal basis of the signature really matters, take advice before relying on an electronic signature at all.
Documents that should still be signed in ink
Many businesses use electronic signing for everyday documents such as terms of business, service agreements, acknowledgements and approvals. That does not mean it suits everything.
In each of the three countries, some documents may need a handwritten signature, a particular form, witnesses, notarisation or registration, and some may call for a stronger kind of electronic signature than a simple one. The list differs by country and changes over time, so it is a question for your lawyer, not for software. A sensible rule: if a document must be witnessed, notarised or registered with an authority, assume it needs ink until you are told otherwise.
A quick checklist before you send
- Is this a document a simple electronic signature is suitable for?
- Is every external signer linked to the right client or CRM lead?
- Are the e-mail addresses ones you know belong to the right people?
- Have you set a sensible expiry and reminders?
- For Nigerian and Kenyan workspaces, has your lawyer confirmed how the signatures will be treated?
Examples from different industries are covered in travel booking terms, order forms approved then signed and a legal mandate signed electronically.
Open the completion certificate from the last document you had signed, read it line by line, and make sure you could explain each item to a sceptical counterparty.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
