Did you receive an electronically signed contract and want to be sure it is authentic and unaltered? Verifying an electronic contract is easier than many people think, and usually takes no more than a minute if the platform it was signed on provides clear verification tools. But many people do not know what to look for in the first place, so they settle for looking at the shape of the signature on the last page, which is the weakest indicator of a contract's authenticity.
An authentic electronic contract is not recognized by its appearance but by the evidence attached to it: a verification number you can consult, a digital fingerprint that exposes any change, a timestamp that proves when it was signed, and an evidence record that logs the steps of the process. In this guide we explain each of these elements, how to check it in practice, and which mistakes make verification worthless, with examples and a review checklist.
First: why might you need to verify a contract?
Why it matters: Verification is not a procedure for courts alone. A bank that receives an employment contract in order to grant a loan needs to confirm it; a buyer who receives an earlier sale contract for a property needs to know it is authentic; and a company to which a new hire presents an experience certificate wants to know it was genuinely issued. In all of these cases, the document presented may be an altered copy of the original.
How to do it right: Make verification a habit whenever you rely on a contract you were not a party to signing, or when you are making an important financial decision based on it. Verification takes a minute, while relying on a forged contract can cost a great deal.
Verification also protects the contract's own parties. If a third party presents a copy of your contract that differs from the original, any party's ability to verify it for itself means tampering is exposed quickly, without you being called upon to prove what you actually signed. That is why an easily verifiable contract protects its owner's reputation before it protects the person receiving it.
Common mistake: Settling for the fact that the document "looks official" because it carries a logo, a stamp, and a signature. All of these can easily be copied from another document.
Example: A real-estate company received from a client an earlier lease proving his income from renting out an apartment. When it entered the verification number printed on the contract into the verification page, it turned out that the rent figure in the submitted copy was higher than the figure in the original contract.
Second: the verification number and the public verification page
Why it matters: The verification number is the easiest key to verification. It is a unique number printed on the signed contract, and it can be entered into a public verification page on the platform's website to learn the contract's status: whether it was actually signed, who its parties are, and when it was signed. The person verifying needs neither an account on the platform nor permission from the contract's parties.
How to do it right: Look for the verification number in the contract; it usually appears in the footer of the pages or in the signing certificate attached to the contract. Then open the verification page yourself by typing the platform's website address into the browser, not by clicking a link inside the document. Enter the number and compare what appears with the document in front of you.
- Extract the verification number from the contract.
- Open the platform's official website by typing its address yourself.
- Go to the verification page and enter the number.
- Compare the parties, the signing date, and the contract's status with what the document says.
- If the page allows comparing the file itself, use it to confirm that the text has not changed.
Common mistake: Clicking a "verify" link found inside the document itself. If the document is forged, the link may also lead you to a fake page that shows you what the forger wants.
Example: On Wthaiq, every signed contract carries a verification number that anyone can enter into the public verification page. An accountant at a company used this page to check a supplier's contract before releasing a payment, and found the contract signed by both parties on the stated date. He released the payment with confidence and attached the verification result to the payment file so the internal auditor could refer to it when needed.
Third: the digital fingerprint: proof that the text has not changed
Why it matters: The verification number tells you that a particular contract was signed, but the digital fingerprint tells you that this specific file is what was signed. The original contract may be genuine while the copy in your hands has been altered in a number or a date. The fingerprint is what reveals this difference with complete precision.
How to do it right: A digital fingerprint is a value computed from the file's content using a fixed algorithm, and any change, even to a single character, produces a completely different fingerprint. If the verification page lets you upload the file or compare its fingerprint, you will know immediately whether it matches the signed copy. If the fingerprint does not match, the file was modified after signing, or it is not the final copy at all.
| Comparison result | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Fingerprint matches | The file is the signed copy itself | It can be relied on |
| Fingerprint does not match | The file was modified or is not the final copy | Request the final copy from its source |
| No verification number | It cannot be verified electronically | Treat it with caution and ask for a stronger document |
Common mistake: Confusing the final copy with a printed and then scanned copy. A scanned copy is a new file with a different fingerprint, even if its visible content is the same.
Example: A company received a contract from a supplier as a PDF whose fingerprint did not match the recorded copy. After asking, it turned out that the supplier had opened the file, added his logo, and saved it again, so the company asked him for the original final copy exactly as it came from the platform.
Fourth: the trusted timestamp
Why it matters: The time of signing can be decisive in some cases: was the contract signed before a certain date or after it? The date written inside a contract is written by the parties, and the time a file was saved on a computer can be changed. A trusted timestamp, by contrast, is issued by an independent party and proves that the document's fingerprint existed at a specific moment.
How to do it right: Look in the signing certificate or on the verification page for the signing time and the timestamp. If the file carries an embedded signature, some PDF readers show the signature and timestamp details in a signatures panel. Compare this time with the date stated in the contract and with the logical sequence of events.
Common mistake: Relying on the contract date written in its header as the signing date. A contract may be prepared on one day and signed two weeks later.
Example: In a dispute over whether an employee had signed the confidentiality undertaking before starting work, the timestamp showed that the signature took place three days before his first working day, and the matter was settled without argument.
Fifth: the signing certificate and the evidence record
Why it matters: The previous elements prove that the document is authentic and when it was signed, but the evidence record answers a different question: how did each party sign? Did they verify with a code sent to their email or phone? Did they confirm their identity with an official document? Did they sign with a token? These details determine the strength of the proof.
How to do it right: Request the evidence record or the signing certificate attached to the contract, and review what it says for each party:
- The signer's name and capacity as they appear in the contract.
- The method of identity verification and the time it succeeded.
- The time the link was opened and the time of signing.
- The document's fingerprint and the timestamp.
- The order of signatures, if the contract has multiple parties.
Common mistake: Treating all electronic signatures as equal. A signature with a token issued by a certification provider licensed by ITIDA carries more evidentiary weight than a signature with a verification code alone, and the record is what reveals which of them is in front of you.
Example: A law firm was asked to assess the strength of a contract in a dispute. It reviewed the evidence record and found that the other party had confirmed his identity with an official document before signing, and it built its defense on that.
Sixth: verifying an embedded signature in a PDF file
Why it matters: Some contracts carry a digital signature embedded inside the PDF file itself, not merely a signature image. This signature can be verified even without connecting to the platform, because PDF readers examine it and show whether the file has changed since.
How to do it right: Open the file in a reader that supports digital signatures and look for the signatures panel. The reader will usually show whether the document has remained unchanged since signing, who the signing party is, and the timestamp. A warning may appear that the signer's identity is "unknown" if the body that issued the certificate is not on your software's trust list, and this does not necessarily mean the file was altered.
Common mistake: Confusing the "identity unknown" warning with the "document modified" warning. The first relates to the software's trust list, while the second means the content has actually changed.
Example: A procurement employee opened a signed contract in a PDF reader and saw a yellow warning that the signer's identity was unknown, so she thought the contract was forged. When she reviewed the details, she found the software saying the document had not been modified since signing, and that the warning was because the certificate issuer was not on the trust list on her device. She then confirmed this by entering the verification number into the public verification page, where the contract appeared intact.
Seventh: warning signs
Why it matters: Some signs do not prove forgery, but they call for closer verification before relying on the contract. Knowing them saves you from falling into the trap of a forged document that looks flawless.
How to do it right: Watch for the following signs:
- A contract with no verification number, or with a number that does not appear on the verification page.
- Parties or date that differ between the document and the verification page.
- A file fingerprint that does not match the recorded copy.
- A pasted signature image with no certificate or evidence record.
- A verification link inside the document that leads to a site with a strange address.
- The person presenting the document insists on skipping verification "because of time pressure."
Common mistake: Ignoring these signs because the person presenting the document is known or trusted. He may himself be the victim of an altered document that reached him from someone else.
Example: An HR employee noticed that an experience certificate presented by a candidate carried no verification number, even though the issuing company uses electronic signing. He contacted the company directly and found that the certificate had not been issued by it.
Eighth: for contract owners: how to make your contracts easy to verify
Why it matters: If you send contracts to your clients or issue certificates to your employees, making them easy to verify protects your reputation. A party that can confirm your documents in a minute trusts you more, and a forger finds it harder to exploit your name.
How to do it right: Sign your contracts and documents on a platform that prints a verification number on every document and provides a public verification page. Tell the parties you deal with how to verify, and ask your employees not to send altered or scanned copies of final documents.
Common mistake: Sending an altered copy of the final contract, such as adding a logo or a comment, so the fingerprint no longer matches and the document appears modified.
Example: A training company issues completion certificates to its trainees and used to receive many questions from employers about whether these certificates were genuine. When it began issuing them signed with a verification number, and added a line to its website explaining how to verify, the questions almost stopped, because every employer could now verify in a minute. On one occasion an employer caught a forged certificate in the company's name because its number did not appear on the verification page.
Checklist for verifying a signed contract
- Does the contract carry a verification number?
- Did you open the verification page yourself from the official website?
- Do the parties, the date, and the contract's status match the document?
- Does the file's fingerprint match the recorded copy?
- Is there a timestamp proving the time of signing?
- Did you review each signer's identity-verification method in the record?
- Does the file carry a valid embedded signature, if one exists?
- Is there any warning sign that calls for asking the source?
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account on the platform to verify a contract?
On platforms that provide a public verification page you do not need an account; the verification number printed on the contract is enough.
What do I do if the fingerprint does not match?
Do not rely on the file, and request the final copy from its original source. The file may have been modified or saved again with another program.
Does the verification page reveal the parties' full personal data?
Verification pages usually show enough to confirm the contract, while masking part of the personal data to protect the parties' privacy.
Can a paper contract be verified the same way?
No. A paper contract carries no digital fingerprint and no timestamp, and verifying it usually requires comparing against the original or consulting a handwriting expert.
Is checking the verification page enough in court?
The verification page is a quick tool for reassurance. In a dispute, the final contract is submitted together with the evidence record, and the judge assesses its weight under Law No. 15 of 2004 and its Executive Regulations.
Verifying an electronic contract takes a minute and protects you from decisions built on an altered document. Always start with the verification number, then the fingerprint, then the record. If you want to issue your contracts and documents with a verification number that any party can consult, you can create your Wthaiq account.
This article is for general awareness and does not constitute legal advice.