The proof: protocol sheet and chain
2 min read
Every request keeps a chain of events: requested, opened, signed, delivered. Each entry carries the hash of the one before it, and the finished PDF gets a protocol sheet as its last page.
Appended, never altered
An entry's hash covers exactly what makes it up: predecessor, kind, time, origin, contents. Anyone altering an entry later alters its hash, and that hash sits in the next one. The chain therefore breaks visibly instead of quietly adding up.
What it proves and what it does not
It proves within this platform that nothing was altered afterwards. It proves nothing to someone who does not trust the platform: recompute every entry at once and you get a chain that adds up. That would need a timestamp from outside, and there is none here.
The protocol sheet explains the document
It is the last page of every finished PDF and names time, recipient, device and the hashes. The document thereby explains itself: whoever holds it in five years sees what happened without access to the application.
The IP appears only shortened
The signed document travels on, to an authority, a counterparty, another system. Nobody there needs the recipient's full address. In full it sits in the event chain, where the audit trail needs it.
The sums are checked by themselves
A chain nobody recomputes is a claim: a break would only surface in a dispute, meaning exactly when it is too late to explain. The check therefore runs in the background on a rolling basis, without anyone starting it.
Step by step
- Open the record and read the request's events on the History tab.
- Open the finished PDF in the target field and turn to the last page.
- For a query, quote the time, recipient and hash from the protocol sheet.
What does it mean when the chain breaks?
That an entry was altered after it was made. That is a finding and not an accusation; it still has to be followed up, because that is what the chain is for.
Can I leave the protocol sheet out?
No. Without it the PDF would be a picture of a signature with nothing to back it up.
How long does the proof stay?
Signed documents have a retention area of their own with a long period. What is set there is under Retention.
What happens to the unsigned interim file?
It is deleted once the request is finished or closed. An unsigned PDF is not proof, it is an interim state holding personal data.