Patterns
Ask users for…
Signature
Use: DeployedUsage
When to use this pattern
- Certification statement or statement of truth. Some forms will require the user to certify their submission by signature. The VA has a directive to use electronic signatures (PDF) and follows guidance from OMB on “Modernizing Access to and Consent for Disclosure of Records Subject to the Privacy Act” as well as the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN).
Under laws such as the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), 44 U.S.C. 3504 note, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), … and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), 15 U.S.C. 7001, et seq., an e-signature has the same legal weight as a handwritten signature and cannot be considered invalid simply due to being electronic. The laws establish criteria for valid e-signatures, along the following lines: Intent to sign, consent to do business electronically, association of the signature with the record, attribution to the person signing, and a record of the digital transactions. The United States practices an open technology approach, meaning there’s no law requiring use of a specific signing technology for an e-signature to be legally binding, as long as it meets the criteria.
Federal register Vol. 87, No. 60
Examples

How to design and build
This patterns is used at the end of a form review page.
Layout details
- Instructions for the user around signing the certification
- Card
- Heading: Veteran’s statement of truth
- Content (specific to form)
- Link to privacy policy page
- Text input for signature
- Checkbox for certification
How this pattern works
- Place the pattern underneath the accordions on the review section. Do not hide this component inside an accordion.
- Signature pattern does not exist in every form. If your form needs a certification statement or statement of truth, we recommend using this pattern.
- When using this pattern, do not add the privacy policy checkbox at the end of the form. The user does not need to check another checkbox for privacy policy.
Content considerations
Error message templates
When a user doesn’t enter the name they entered previously in the form
Your signature must match your first and last name as previously entered.
When a user doesn’t check the checkbox for certification
Must certify by checking box
Live application examples: