ComplyWise includes native e-signing: you send a document out for signature straight from your workspace, and each recipient signs through a private link, with no account and no software to install. This article explains the trust model, what the final certificate does (and does not) claim, and how credits work.
Private links, not accounts
When you send an envelope, ComplyWise creates a private, one-time signing link for each recipient. Possession of that link is the recipient's authority to act: whoever holds it can open the document, consent, and sign. Signers never create an account or set a password.
Because the link is the key, treat it like one:
- Invitation emails deliver each link directly to the recipient.
- If you skip a recipient's email address, you receive their link once at send and distribute it yourself.
- Re-copying or reissuing a link retires the previous one, so a forwarded old link stops working.
What kind of signature this is
Signatures collected through ComplyWise are simple electronic signatures backed by an evidence trail. For every envelope, ComplyWise records:
- The recipient's explicit consent to sign electronically, before any signature is accepted.
- Timestamps for each step: opened, consented, signed, declined.
- The IP address and browser details captured at each step.
- Checksums of the exact document version that was sent and of the final signed file, so any later alteration is detectable.
When the last party signs, ComplyWise generates the signed PDF and a separate certificate page summarizing this evidence.
What the certificate claims, honestly
The certificate states that a person holding a specific private signing link consented and signed, at recorded times, from recorded network addresses, over a document with a recorded checksum. Where the sender recorded an email address for the recipient, delivery to that address is part of the picture.
It deliberately does not claim more than that. It does not assert that a government identity check was performed, and it is not an advanced or qualified electronic signature under regimes such as eIDAS. For most commercial agreements a simple electronic signature with strong evidence is sufficient; if your use case requires a higher assurance level, check with your legal advisor.
Envelope lifecycle
An envelope moves through: draft (you prepare recipients and fields), sent (links are live, the document is frozen), signed (every signer has signed), and completed (the countersigner, if any, has signed and the signed PDF plus certificate exist). It can also end as voided, declined, or expired; any finished envelope can be cloned onto a fresh draft.
Credits
Sending an envelope consumes one envelope credit at the moment you send. Credits are not refunded if the envelope is later voided, declined, or expires. See Envelope credits and expiry for details.