Digitally signed pdf file can't validate

Question

I have a pdf file digitally signed by two people. I see the digital signatures, but only as images. When I try to validate the digital signatures, it tells me that there is none.
A signature field appears in the place below the digital signatures and when you click there, a signing window opens with a new signature.
How can I fix this or avoid it in the future?
Thanks

Meenakshi_Negi · Accepted Answer

Hi 3gpa8ka_BG,

Thank you for reaching out.

As mentioned, the document is digitally signed. Please confirm how the document was signed. As the signature appears as an image, there is a possiblity that either the signature was added as an image or the document was flattened before sending the document to you.

Would it be possible to share the document so we can check and confirm?

Thanks,

Meenakshi

MikelKlink · Answer

Well, if Acrobat tells you that there aren't any digital signatures in the PDF, then there either aren't any, or the PDF is damaged in a way hiding the signature data, or the digital signatures are applied in a non-interoperable manner. Without the PDF to analyze we can only guess.

One possible cause is that the PDF originally had the digital signatures you mention but then was flattened by some PDF processor. Flattening a PDF removes its form structure and merely keeps the form fields appearances by adding them to the static page contents. If that is what had happened in your case, you cannot fix this and only can avoid this by preventing that the PDF with the digital signatures is flattened.

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