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Audit Trail

Every step in the signing process is automatically recorded, from the moment a document is sent to the moment it is fully signed. This record is called the audit trail, and once something is written to it, it cannot be changed or removed by anyone, including Formaliq staff. That is what makes it useful as proof of what happened.

For example, a single line in the audit trail might read:

Signed by Jane Doe (jane@example.com) Authenticated via emailed signing link - Aug 7, 2026 03:54 UTC - IP 203.0.113.42

Every meaningful step produces a line like this, building up a complete, tamper-proof timeline of the whole signing process.

What gets recorded​

Each entry in the audit trail includes:

  • What happened (for example, the document was sent, opened, or signed)
  • Who did it, by name and email address
  • The date and time it happened
  • The location it happened from (IP address) and the device or browser used
  • A digital fingerprint of the document at that exact moment, so it is possible to prove the document's contents did not change partway through the process

The kinds of events that get recorded​

Formaliq records every meaningful step, including: the document being created, sent, and opened; each signature being completed or declined; the document being edited, cancelled, or recalled; a signing link expiring or bouncing; and the moment the fully signed document is finalized.

Getting a copy of the audit trail​

Once a document is fully signed, anyone with the link to it can view the signed document and download a copy of the audit trail as a PDF. This PDF lists every event described above in a simple table, along with a note confirming that the record is permanent and cannot be altered.

This PDF is the document you would hand to anyone (a court, a compliance reviewer, or a client) who needs proof of exactly when a document was signed, by whom, and that nothing about it changed along the way.