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Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

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The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Patterns

Ask users for…

Signature

Use: Deployed
Use this pattern when you need a user to provide their signature as a statement of truth.

Usage

When to use this pattern

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

Example of the statement of truth signature pattern.
The Statement of truth component captures a digital signature from the user.

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:

VA Form 10-10CG (Application for Family Caregiver Benefits)

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Last updated: Aug 08, 2023