Is an eSigned document legally binding?

Yes, eSignatures are legally binding in the USA, more than thirty countries of Europe, and many other regions worldwide. airSlate SignNow allows you to create a unique electronic signature and safely apply it to documents in one click without the hassles of printing, scanning, or mailing.

How do I send documents for signing?

Upload a document to airSlate SignNow and open it in the editor. Select Signature Field in the left-hand sidebar and click anywhere on the document to place a signature field. Then, click Invite to Sign in the top right corner of the screen, enter the recipient’s email address, and hit Send Invite .

Can I send my document for signing to multiple signers at the same time?

airSlate SignNow allows you to send your signature to multiple people. Open your document in the editor and select Edit Signers on the left. In the open window, add as many signers as you need.

How do I create a signature in airSlate SignNow?

Open your document in the airSlate SignNow editor and find the Edit & Sign section on the left. Select My Signature and click anywhere on the document. You can add your existing and saved signature or create a new one by drawing, typing, or uploading its image.

How long does it take to sign my document using airSlate SignNow?

Recipients can sign and submit your documents in seconds. All they need is an internet-connected device.

How many signers can I add when sending a document with airSlate SignNow?

Add as many signers as you need. Also, try using Bulk Invite to speed up sending documents to lots of people at one time.

How do I forward a document to another signer?

Click Invite to Sign and prepare your document for signing: add fillable fields, create and assign signing roles, and set up a signing order. Save your changes and click Advanced Options . Check the Allow Forwarding box and send your invite.

Can I share a document with multiple people and authorize them to assign signers?

Sure you can. Use airSlate SignNow’s PowerForms to allow other people to assign document signers. With PowerForms, you can speed up the signing process with multiple parties involved.

How do I use PowerForms in airSlate SignNow?

First, you have to create signing roles and then set up the signing order for all roles. You will be the last signer, so check Signer is Sender in the dropdown of the last email field. Add fillable fields to the document and save all changes. Then, convert your document to a template and generate a signing link to it. That’s it, now share the link with authorized recipients and they can assign signers for each unfixed signing role.

How do I send a freeform invite to a signer?

Upload your document to airSlate SignNow, click on it, and select Freeform Invite in the right-hand sidebar. Then, add the recipient’s email address and hit Send Invite .

Electronic Signature
Features
Industry-leading compliance
Use History Audit to View the Changes

Use History Audit to View the Changes in SignNow

Download a document’s history to view all changes made and a detailed audit log with time stamps and IP addresses.

See how it works!Click here to sign a sample doc

Award-winning eSignature solution

What the use history audit to view the changes does

The use history audit to view the changes is an audit-trail feature that records every modification and interaction with a document, including timestamps, actor identity, IP address, and the specific change made. It provides a chronological log of uploads, edits, field changes, signature events, and exports, packaged so administrators and auditors can inspect who did what and when. For regulated workflows, this record supports verification, dispute resolution, and compliance reporting by preserving an immutable sequence of events tied to each transaction.

Why the audit view matters for document integrity

A clear, accessible use history audit to view the changes helps maintain chain-of-custody, reduces compliance risk, and makes it easier to validate signatures and edits during reviews or investigations.

Common challenges before using history audits

Difficulty proving who modified a document when multiple contributors share access and edits are scattered over time.
Manual version control creates duplicate files and inconsistent records that hinder accurate reconciliation.
Regulated industries face audits without a cohesive event log, increasing the time required to produce evidence.
Locating a specific change across large workflows can be time-consuming without indexed timestamps and actor details.

Representative roles and how they use audit logs

Contract Manager

Contract managers use the audit trail to confirm the sequence of approvals, identify who changed contractual terms, and export a dated record to include in contract files for internal governance and external audits.

IT Auditor

IT auditors review detailed event logs to verify access patterns, confirm proper authentication steps, and validate that document handling meets internal controls and regulatory requirements across systems.

Typical users of the audit view in operational teams

Teams across legal, compliance, procurement, and HR use the use history audit to view the changes to verify actions and maintain records.

Legal counsel verifying the authenticity and timing of executed agreements.
Compliance officers compiling records for regulatory review or incident investigations.
Procurement and account teams tracking approvals and contract revisions across vendors.

These users rely on clear event histories to support internal reviews, external audits, and to resolve disputes efficiently.

Advanced capabilities that complement audit visibility

Additional features that extend the usefulness of the audit view for enterprise workflows and regulatory needs.

Legal-ready reports

Preformatted audit reports that compile event metadata, timestamps, and signer identity into a document suitable for legal review and evidentiary purposes, reducing manual assembly during disputes.

API access to logs

Programmatic retrieval of audit entries through an API so organizations can integrate logs into SIEM systems, compliance platforms, or internal reporting tools for continuous monitoring.

Retention controls

Granular retention settings let administrators align log preservation with policy and legal requirements, enabling automatic deletion or legal hold as needed.

Alerting and monitoring

Configurable alerts notify admins of unusual audit events such as large export actions, repeated failed authentications, or changes by service accounts.

Encryption at rest

Stored audit logs are encrypted using industry-standard algorithms to ensure that event data remains protected from unauthorized access.

Role-based visibility

Fine-grained access control ensures only authorized roles can view, export, or delete audit entries, supporting separation of duties and governance.

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Core tools that improve audit effectiveness

Key features to look for that make the use history audit to view the changes practical for everyday compliance and operations.

Detailed event log

A complete chronological record that lists every interaction with the document, including edits, field-level changes, signature events, signers' identities, and system actions to provide a single source of truth for audits.

Exportable reports

Built-in export options produce PDF and CSV renditions of the audit trail so teams can submit event records to auditors or attach them to compliance packages without manual compilation.

Field-level history

Change entries at the individual field level show previous and current values with timestamps and user information, enabling granular verification of form modifications and preventing disputes over data changes.

Access controls

Role-based visibility limits who can view or export audit logs, ensuring sensitive history information is viewable only by authorized personnel and aligned with internal governance.

How the audit captures changes behind the scenes

Overview of the capture process from user action to permanent log entry.

Event capture: System records each user action
Metadata attach: Associate IP, timestamp, and device
Hashing: Compute document checksum
Immutable log: Append entry to secured record

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Quick step-by-step to check document change history

A concise walkthrough for locating and interpreting the audit entries associated with a document.

01

Open document: Locate the file in your workspace
02

View audit: Select the audit or history tab
03

Inspect entries: Review timestamps and actor details
04

Export log: Download a PDF or CSV record

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Recommended workflow settings for audit-enabled processes

Suggested configuration values to ensure consistent capture and access to audit logs across document workflows.

Setting Name	Configuration
Audit retention period	7 years
Export format	PDF, CSV
Reminder frequency	48 hours
Access role for exports	Compliance Admin
Field-level tracking	Enabled

Viewing audits across devices and platforms

The use history audit to view the changes is accessible from web, mobile, and tablet interfaces, with consistent metadata presentation across platforms.

Web browser: Modern browsers supported
Mobile app: iOS and Android
Offline access: View-only mode

Ensure the client app or browser meets minimum security and version requirements, and prefer the official application on mobile for full audit and export capabilities when performing compliance reviews or export actions.

Security and metadata captured in the audit

Timestamping: UTC date and time

User identity: Account email or ID

IP logging: Client IP address

Action type: Edit, sign, view

Document hash: SHA-256 checksum

Device info: User agent string

Industry examples using the audit view

Two practical examples show how the use history audit to view the changes supports distinct business workflows and compliance needs.

Healthcare Records

A hospital documents access and amendments to a patient consent form to keep a secure timeline of edits and approvals.

Audit entries include user role and timestamp for each change.
The feature reduces uncertainty when verifying consent status.

Resulting in faster reviews and clear evidence for HIPAA compliance and internal investigations.

Vendor Contracts

A procurement team tracks negotiation edits across multiple reviewers to ensure each redline is attributed correctly.

The audit highlights who proposed and approved each revision.
This shortens the approval cycle and prevents version disputes during procurement audits.

Leading to clearer contract governance and auditable records for financial and legal review.

Best practices for accurate and secure audit records

Practical guidance to ensure the audit trail remains reliable, accessible, and compliant with organizational policies.

Enable immutable logging and retention policies

Configure audit entries to be tamper-evident and retain logs according to legal and internal retention schedules, ensuring records remain available for required audit windows and legal hold scenarios.

Use strong user authentication and MFA

Require multi-factor authentication and enforce strong passwords so audit entries reliably map to verified identities and reduce the risk of impersonation or unauthorized edits reflected in the log.

Standardize document versioning and labelling

Apply consistent version labels and document metadata at creation to simplify traceability and make it easier to correlate audit entries with specific document revisions during reviews.

Limit export privileges and monitor access

Restrict who can export audit logs and enable alerts for export actions so that log dissemination is controlled and any unusual access is quickly investigated by administrators.

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airSlate SignNow is committed to protecting your sensitive information by complying with global industry-specific

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Troubleshooting common audit view issues

Answers to frequent questions and practical fixes when audit entries are missing, incomplete, or hard to interpret.

Audit entries not visible for a document
Confirm that logging was enabled at document creation and that the viewing account has sufficient permissions; if logging was disabled, recent events may not be recoverable from the system audit.
Timestamps appear inconsistent or in different time zones
Audit logs typically store events in UTC; verify your display settings and account timezone to interpret timestamps correctly during investigations and reporting.
User identity shows as system or unknown
This can indicate actions performed by automated integrations or service accounts; review integration logs and API keys to map system actions back to a responsible account.
Field-level changes lack prior values
If prior values are missing, field-level tracking may have been disabled or overwritten; enable field history for future transactions and contact support for possible recovery options.
Exported audit log is missing expected columns
Check export format settings and include metadata fields when exporting; use CSV to retain structured columns for deeper analysis and reconciliation.
Entries show unusual IP addresses or devices
Treat unexpected device or IP information as a potential security incident, review related access activity, revoke compromised credentials, and escalate to security teams if necessary.

Audit features: signNow compared with major vendors

A concise comparison of audit-related capabilities across popular eSignature vendors, with signNow listed first as a recommended option.

Criteria	signNow	DocuSign	Adobe Sign
Audit Trail Availability
Audit Granularity	Full history	Full history	Summary-only
Export Options	PDF, CSV	PDF	PDF, CSV
Field-level Tracking			Limited

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Compliance risks mitigated by audit visibility

Invalid evidence: Weak proof of change

Data disputes: Undisputed versions missing

Regulatory fines: Noncompliance penalties

Breach investigations: Poor incident forensics

Contractual liability: Unclear responsibilities

Audit delays: Longer remediation time

How to track the history of your documents in airSlate SignNow

For your legal safety and general auditing purposes, airSlate SignNow features an entire event log with timestamps, emails, and IP addresses for all your documents. You can easily download audit trail data for your file or quickly review a document’s history in the web or mobile app.

Download a document with its history

Click More next to a document and select Download with History from the dropdown.

Once downloaded, the document copy will be saved on your device. You will find its detailed history on the last page.

Review the in-app audit trail

Click More next to a document and select History.

You will see the entire document log in a new window. All its data is organized into several columns for your convenience:

Client: Shows whether the action was performed in the web app or the mobile app.
Event: The type of action or change in a document.
By: Email addresses of people who performed any actions with your documents.
Server Time/Client Time: Time when an action took place.
IP Address: IP addresses for changes made to a document.

Use History Audit to View the Changes in SignNow

Award-winning eSignature solution

What the use history audit to view the changes does

Why the audit view matters for document integrity

Common challenges before using history audits

Representative roles and how they use audit logs

Contract Manager

IT Auditor

Typical users of the audit view in operational teams

Advanced capabilities that complement audit visibility

Legal-ready reports

API access to logs

Retention controls

Alerting and monitoring

Encryption at rest

Role-based visibility

Choose a better solution

Core tools that improve audit effectiveness

Detailed event log

Exportable reports

Field-level history

Access controls

How the audit captures changes behind the scenes

Quick step-by-step to check document change history

Why choose airSlate SignNow

Recommended workflow settings for audit-enabled processes

Viewing audits across devices and platforms

Security and metadata captured in the audit

Industry examples using the audit view

Healthcare Records

Vendor Contracts

Best practices for accurate and secure audit records

Troubleshooting common audit view issues

Audit features: signNow compared with major vendors

Get legally-binding signatures now!

Compliance risks mitigated by audit visibility

How to track the history of your documents in airSlate SignNow

Download a document with its history

Review the in-app audit trail

Explore Advanced Features

Discover More eSignature Tools

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