Feature
The document only opens for the person who knows the code
If a mortgage company has ever made you type the last four of your Social Security number before a document would open, you have used an access code. It is a second factor on the document itself, and it is free on every document you send here.
How it works
When you add a signer, you can set an access code and a hint. The signer gets their private link as normal, but the document stays sealed until they enter the code. You arrange the code with them separately, which is what makes it a second factor rather than just another thing in the same email.
- You set a code and a hint per recipient, so different signers can have different codes.
- The code is never stored in readable form. Only a one-way hash of it is kept.
- Repeated wrong attempts lock the document rather than allowing an endless guessing run.
- Until the code is entered, nothing is recorded as viewed, because nothing has been shown.
- The protection covers the document itself, not just the page around it, so the file cannot be pulled without the code.
What people use it for
Anything where the wrong person receiving the email should not mean the wrong person reading the contract. Financial documents, employment paperwork, settlement agreements, anything with personal information in it.
It is also a quiet identity check. A signer who cannot produce the code you agreed on is a signer worth a phone call.
Choosing a good code
The point is something the right person already knows and a stranger does not. The last four of an SSN is the classic because it needs no setup, but an invoice number, a job number, or a date only the two of you would know all work.
Do not send the code in the same email as the link. That defeats the entire mechanism.
Common questions
- Is the access code stored anywhere?
- Not in readable form. Only a one-way hash is kept, which is enough to check an entered code and not enough to recover the original. Nobody, including us, can look up what you chose.
- What if the signer forgets the code?
- You can see the hint you set and tell them again. If you need to change it, you can void the request and send a fresh one.
- Does it cost extra?
- No. Access codes are included on every document, like everything else here.
More in features
Free, and not the kind of free with a catch
Unlimited documents, unlimited signers, certified PDFs on every one. No trial clock and no card to start.
Start signing free