# The audit trail, certificate, and digital seal

**Category:** [Document Signing](https://help.totalctrl.app/hc/totalctrl/totalctrl-help-center/en-US/categories/document-signing)
**Updated:** 2026-08-19

## Evidence built into every document

### Audit trail

Every action — sent, viewed, consented, signed, declined — is logged with the actor's email, IP address, and timestamp, in an append-only record.
### Certificate of Completion

When all signers finish, a certificate page is appended to the signed PDF. It lists the document, all signers, each signer's electronic-records consent, the integrity hash, and the complete audit trail.
### Digital seal

The finished PDF is sealed with a **PAdES (PKCS#7) digital signature** and an **RFC 3161 trusted timestamp**. This means anyone can verify — in any PDF reader, without trusting TotalCtrl — that the document hasn't been altered since it was completed. A **SHA-256 hash** is recorded as well.

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## Related Articles

- [Integrations: CRM, automation, API, and reminders](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/signing-integrations-1)
- [Signing a document you received](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/how-to-sign)
- [Signing a document you received](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/signing-as-a-signer)
- [Templates, automation, and integrations](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/signing-integrations)
- [Document Signing overview](https://help.totalctrl.app/en-US/articles/signing-overview)

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