DocuTrust applies cryptographic digital signatures to completed documents using X.509 certificates. Signatures conform to the PAdES (PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures) standard and include RFC 3161 timestamps from a Time Stamping Authority (TSA) to prove the document existed at a specific point in time.
All digital signatures include an RFC 3161 timestamp from a Time Stamping Authority. This provides cryptographic proof that the signature existed at a specific time, independent of the signer’s local clock.
DocuTrust uses FreeTSA as the primary timestamping authority with an automatic fallback mechanism:
Priority
TSA Server
Protocol
Primary
https://freetsa.org/tsr
RFC 3161 over HTTP
Fallback
Internal timestamp
System clock with certificate binding
The TSA timestamp is embedded directly into the PDF signature dictionary, making it verifiable by any PAdES-compliant reader (Adobe Acrobat, Foxit, etc.).
Adobe Acrobat Reader — Opens the Signatures panel automatically
Foxit PDF Reader — Displays signature validity in the toolbar
Any PAdES-compliant validator — The PKCS#7 structure is standard-compliant
Self-signed certificates will show as “unknown” trust in PDF readers. For full trust chain validation, import a certificate issued by a publicly trusted Certificate Authority.