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Participant
November 24, 2017
Answered

Can I digitally sign a document that can be later split in separate documents but not edited?

  • November 24, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 897 views

Hello,

I am looking for a way that I can digitally sign a pdf document in such a way that it cannot be edited and shows the time and date it was signed, the catch is that I need to be able to split this document up for controls testing and audit purposes so it cannot be edited

The point is to show that the document was created on a certain day, so that in the future at an auditor's request I can provide the subset of information required on the document, showing that it has not been modified, but not providing more information than requested by said auditor

Is this action, or something similar, at all possible in Acrobat? Once I've certified or signed a document I cannot extract any part of it, but if it is not certified it can be edited by any user with Acrobat (including myself, so password protection alone is not sufficient)

Thanks in advance!

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Correct answer Test Screen Name

This is not just impractical, it's theoretically and practically impossible to split a file and still have proof of authenticity. Signatures apply to documents, not pages, and any change to the document will invalidate them. You will see why you can't delete pages from a signed document - it might change the meaning of a contract. And extracting pages is just like deleting. And...without a signature...there is no way the auditor can accept your evidence it was created on a certain day. Indeed, even with a signature, unless an external time source is used.

1 reply

Test Screen NameCorrect answer
Legend
November 24, 2017

This is not just impractical, it's theoretically and practically impossible to split a file and still have proof of authenticity. Signatures apply to documents, not pages, and any change to the document will invalidate them. You will see why you can't delete pages from a signed document - it might change the meaning of a contract. And extracting pages is just like deleting. And...without a signature...there is no way the auditor can accept your evidence it was created on a certain day. Indeed, even with a signature, unless an external time source is used.