While documents are almost always created on computers, they often need to be signed. This can be a major bottleneck, sometimes requiring documents to be printed, manually signed, scanned, and then re-uploaded. Thankfully, this process can be significantly simplified with Google eSignature.
Discover how Google’s built-in eSignature solution eliminates the hassle, bringing seamless, secure document signing directly to your Google apps.
What is Google eSignature and what does It do?
It offers seamless integration, allowing you to create and send documents for signature directly from Google Docs or initiate e-signature requests for PDFs stored right in Google Drive.
This means no more jumping between different applications or platforms. The process is also effortlessly usable—simply drag and drop signature fields, date fields, and text fields precisely where you need them in your document.
What’s important, signatures obtained through Google eSignature are legally binding in numerous countries and regions, including the U.S. and the EU. Google achieves this by utilizing certificates compliant with standards like the Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL), ensuring ironclad legal enforceability.
What makes this tool really convenient is monitoring the status of pending signatures and view completed contracts. This provides a complete overview of your document workflow right within Google.
Legal validity and regional compliance
A critical concern when adopting any e-signature solution is its legal standing. Google eSignature addresses this by providing legally binding signatures that are widely accepted across various regions.
United States: It complies with the ESIGN Act (Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act), which ensures that electronic signatures have the same legal weight as traditional signatures.
European Union: Within the EU, Google eSignature adheres to the requirements for simple electronic signatures (SeS) as defined by the eIDAS Regulation (electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services).
Global Credibility: To further bolster its credibility and trustworthiness, Google eSignature leverages certificates from an Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL) member, a standard recognized globally for secure digital documents.
This compliance across major economic blocs ensures that documents signed with Google eSignature are legally enforceable and reliable for businesses operating internationally.
Additionally, Google Workspace’s underlying infrastructure is designed to comply with a number of general security and data laws and standards, such as SOC 2 Type II, Department of Defense IL4 authorization, ISO/IEC 27001, and GDPR.
Practical use cases for Google eSignature
Many users overlook Google eSignature, a hidden gem that streamlines document tasks. Now that you’re aware of its existence, let’s delve into practical applications for your daily workflow.
For vendor agreements, quickly onboard new partners or suppliers, and easily reuse ready-made contract templates for ongoing needs, saving valuable time.
For customer contracts, get client signatures on sales agreements and other vital documents in a flash, with instant progress updates helping you close deals faster.
Finally, for stakeholder approvals, streamline sign-offs from your team and partners on projects, new policies, or critical decisions, ensuring projects keep moving forward without delays.
The Google eSignature advantage
The e-signature market is crowded, often with feature-rich platforms designed for highly complex business needs.
But for many, Google eSignature offers a powerful, simpler, and often superior alternative, especially due to its key advantages.
It’s cost-effective – if you’re already on an eligible Google Workspace plan (like Business Standard, Plus, or Enterprise editions), eSignature is already included at no extra cost.
It’s also available for Google Workspace Individual accounts and Google Workspace Nonprofits editions.
Its greatest strength is being built-in for seamless workflows, with deep integration with Google Docs and Drive. You’re not context-switching between apps, leading to less time spent learning another tools and a much smoother process for teams already immersed in Workspace.
For most small to mid-sized businesses or internal teams, Google eSignature is perfect for common needs, providing everything required, from multi-signer support and robust legal validity to templating, all without the unnecessary complexity of overly robust platforms.
How to access Google eSignature
If you’re a Google Workspace user, you can access eSignature directly from Google Docs or Drive.
- For PDFs in Google Drive: Go to drive.google.com, open your PDF in viewing mode, then click the Menu icon (three dots) at the top right and select eSignature.
- For Google Docs: Go to drive.google.com, open your Doc, and then click Tools at the top and select eSignature. You can also manage multiple signers from here.
Want to learn more about how Google eSignature can transform your document workflows?
How we at FOTC use eSignature?
To show a practical example, let’s use a situation from FOTC. Recently, the HR department prepared an addendum to my contract for me to sign.
The document appeared in my email inbox with a request to sign. I clicked the link, opened the file, and saw a ready PDF document with clearly marked spots for a signature and date. I clicked “Sign,” in my case, I typed my name, and Google automatically gave it a handwritten look, confirmed, and clicked “Adopt and sign.” Done. The whole process took literally a few seconds.
But before that document reached me, the HR department had to take a few steps.
Of course, someone created or uploaded the document to Google Docs. Once the content was ready, a member of the HR department went to the “Tools” menu and selected the “eSignature” option.
A panel opened on the right side, allowing them to add signatories – in this case, me. HR selected the signature fields and then dragged them to the appropriate place in the document.
The last step was clicking “Request eSignature” – then the document was automatically converted to PDF and sent to me securely. For me, as the recipient, everything looked like a standard electronic signature request:
I click the link, sign, and finish.
This is precisely why the eSignature function in Google Docs is increasingly replacing external solutions for us – especially for simple documents that need to be signed quickly, efficiently, and in compliance with regulations.
Frequently asked questions about Google eSignature
What is Google eSignature?
Google eSignature is a native feature within the Google Workspace ecosystem that allows you to electronically sign documents directly within your familiar Google environment, such as Google Docs and Google Drive.
How does Google eSignature integrate with existing Google apps?
Google eSignature offers seamless integration. You can create and send documents for signature directly from Google Docs or initiate e-signature requests for PDFs stored in Google Drive, eliminating the need to switch between different applications or platforms.
What legal regulations is Google eSignature compliant with?
In the United States, it complies with the ESIGN Act (Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act).
Within the European Union, it adheres to the requirements for simple electronic signatures (SeS) as defined by the eIDAS Regulation (electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services).
It further bolsters its credibility by leveraging certificates from an Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL) member, a globally recognized standard for secure digital documents.
Additionally, Google Workspace’s underlying infrastructure is designed to comply with a number of general security and data laws and standards, such as SOC 2 Type II, Department of Defense IL4 authorization, ISO/IEC 27001, and GDPR.
Is Google eSignature a free feature?
Google eSignature is available at no additional cost for users on eligible Google Workspace plans, including Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus, Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus, and Education Plus.
It is also available for Google Workspace Individual accounts and Google Workspace Nonprofits editions.