- You can easily validate digital signatures in Adobe Acrobat Reader on Mac or Windows.
- Open Adobe Acrobat Reader > Settings > Signatures > control how and when signatures are verified > uncheck Require Certificate Revocation.
- Open your PDF document > click on your signature > Signature Properties > select Validate Signature.
Validate Digital Signatures in PDF Files on Mac
For those using Adobe Acrobat Reader on Mac, you must enable a few options before checking for digital signature validation. Follow these steps to validate digital signatures in PDF files if you are a Mac user.
Step 1: Open Adobe Acrobat Reader > open your PDF file .
Step 2: Click on Acrobat Reader at the top-left corner > select Preferences .
Step 3: In the Preferences window, click on Signatures from the left menu.
Step 4: Click on More under the Verification tab on the right.
Step 5: In the Signature Verification Preferences windows, uncheck Require Certificate Revocation…verification .
Step 6: Click on Ok .
Step 7: Close the window and click on the digital signature in your document.
The Signature Validation Status window will open on your screen.
Step 8: Click on Signature Properties and choose Validate Signature .
Step 9: Close the Signature Validation Status window. If you notice a green tick, your signature has been validated.
Validate Digital Signatures in PDF Files on Windows
Adobe Acrobat Reader on Windows also needs to enable the signature validation option. However, the steps to enable the option to validate digital signatures in PDF files are slightly different for Windows users .
Step 1: Open Adobe Acrobat Reader and go to your PDF file .
Step 2: Click on Edit at the top-left corner of the menu bar > choose Preferences .
Step 3: Scroll down and click on Signatures from the left menu.
The rest of the steps to validate the digital signature remain the same as for Mac users – check from Step 4 onwards.
Check the Validity of Digital Signature in PDF File
If you receive a PDF file with a validated digital signature, check the validity of the signature by following these steps which are the same for Mac and Windows.
Step 1: Open the PDF file with the validated digital signature.
Step 2: Right-click on the digital signature > choose Show Signature Properties .
Step 3: In the Signature Properties window, check the Signing Time and Source of Trust for validating the signature.
Step 4: To check whether the document was modified after it was signed, click on the Show Signer’s Certificate button under Signer Info.
The certificate will open on your screen for the PDF file.
Check Digital Signature History in PDF File
The Signature Panel in Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to check information about each digital signature in your PDF file. You can also view the history of changes done in the digital signatures. Here’s how to do that in Adobe Acrobat Reader for Mac and Windows.
Step 1: Open your PDF file with the digital signature in Adobe Acrobat Reader on your Mac or Windows computer.
Step 2: Click on View at the top menu bar > choose Show/Hide .
Step 3: Select Navigation Panes > choose Signatures .
The Signatures panel will open on the left side of your screen.
Step 4: Double click on the signature name or click the arrow alongside the signature to view the changes history.
