Signing Methods

sajn supports multiple signing methods to accommodate different use cases, security requirements, and legal needs. Each method offers a different balance between convenience and verification strength.

SES vs AES Signatures

Before choosing a signing method, it’s important to understand the two categories of electronic signatures under the eIDAS regulation:

Type	Full Name	Legal Weight	Verification
SES	Simple Electronic Signature	Legally valid, basic	Intent to sign
AES	Advanced Electronic Signature	Higher legal standing	Identity verified

For most everyday business documents, SES methods (Drawing, Click-to-Sign) provide sufficient legal validity. Use AES (BankID) for contracts requiring stronger identity verification.

Quick Comparison

Method	Type	Requirements	User Effort	Best For
DRAWING	SES	None	Medium	Personal touch, visual signatures
CLICK_TO_SIGN	SES	None	Very Low	High-volume, low-friction signing
BANKID	AES	Swedish SSN	Medium	Legal contracts, identity verification
MANUAL	N/A	Physical presence	N/A	In-person signing, legacy documents

Beyond Swedish BankID, sajn supports national eIDs across the Nordics and the Netherlands — see European eID for the full list and their wire values.

Drawing Signature

The drawing signature allows signers to create a free-hand signature using their mouse, trackpad, or touchscreen. This provides a personal, traditional feel while remaining fully digital.

How It Works

Signer opens the signing link
Reviews the document content
A signature pad appears with the confirmation: “Härmed bekräftar jag följande:” (I hereby confirm the following:)
Signer draws their signature using mouse or touch
Signature is captured and applied to the document

Requirements

No special requirements
Works on any device with a browser
Touch-enabled devices provide the best experience

Best For

Employment contracts
Sales agreements
Documents where a personal signature touch is desired
Mobile-friendly signing flows

API Configuration

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "role": "SIGNER",
  "deliveryMethod": "EMAIL",
  "requiredSignature": "DRAWING"
}

The signature canvas is responsive: 288px width on desktop, 256px on mobile devices.

Click-to-Sign

Click-to-Sign is the fastest signing method, requiring only two clicks to complete. Perfect for high-volume documents where speed matters more than a visual signature.

How It Works

Signer opens the signing link
Reviews the document content
Clicks the “Klicka för att signera” (Click to sign) button
A confirmation dialog appears with a 60-second countdown
Signer clicks “Bekräfta signering” (Confirm signing)
Document is signed

Requirements

No special requirements
Works on any device with a browser
Fastest completion time

Best For

Terms of service acceptance
NDAs and standard agreements
Internal approvals
High-volume document workflows
Mobile-first experiences

API Configuration

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "role": "SIGNER",
  "deliveryMethod": "EMAIL",
  "requiredSignature": "CLICK_TO_SIGN"
}

Click-to-Sign creates detailed audit trail entries for both the initiation click and the confirmation, providing clear evidence of intent.

BankID

BankID is Sweden’s leading electronic identification system, providing cryptographically verified signatures. This is an Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) with the highest legal standing.

How It Works

On Desktop:

Signer opens the signing link
Reviews the document content
A QR code appears on screen
Signer scans the QR code with their phone’s BankID app
Confirms the signing in the BankID app
Document is signed with verified identity

On Mobile:

Signer opens the signing link
Reviews the document content
Clicks to open BankID app (or scans QR as fallback)
Confirms the signing in the BankID app
Returns to sajn with completed signature

Signing States

The BankID flow progresses through these states:

State	Description
`checking`	Verifying BankID availability
`ready`	QR code displayed, waiting for scan
`waiting`	QR scanned, waiting for user action in app
`authenticating`	User confirming in BankID app
`verifying`	Validating the signature
`complete`	Signature successfully applied

Requirements

Swedish personal number (SSN) - required
Signer must have BankID installed on their device
Active BankID certificate

Best For

Real estate transactions
Financial agreements
Employment contracts requiring identity verification
Any document where verified identity is legally important
Swedish market documents

API Configuration

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "ssn": "197001011234",
  "role": "SIGNER",
  "deliveryMethod": "EMAIL",
  "requiredSignature": "BANKID"
}

The SSN field is required for BankID signatures. Without a valid Swedish personal number, the signing will fail.

European eID

Signers outside Sweden authenticate with their own national eID. Each scheme is an Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) backed by the country’s identity infrastructure, so it carries the same legal weight as BankID does in Sweden.

Wire value	Scheme	Country	Notes
`DK_MITID`	MitID	🇩🇰 Denmark	Personal identity — the default for Danish signers
`DK_MITID_ERHVERV`	MitID Erhverv	🇩🇰 Denmark	Organization identity, not personal — for signing on a company’s behalf
`FI_FTN`	FTN (Finnish Trust Network)	🇫🇮 Finland	Finnish bank credentials and Mobile ID
`NO_BANKID_BIOMETRIC`	BankID (Norge)	🇳🇴 Norway	The default for Norwegian signers
`NO_BANKID_HIGH`	BankID (Norge, høy sikkerhet)	🇳🇴 Norway	Higher-assurance tier, where it’s required
`NO_QES`	BankID QES (Norge)	🇳🇴 Norway	Qualified signature (QES) — the highest eIDAS tier
`NL_IDIN`	iDIN	🇳🇱 Netherlands	Dutch bank-issued identity

Schemes are switched on market by market. Sending a requiredSignature that isn’t available yet is rejected with This eID scheme is not yet available.

Building a signature-method picker

Don’t hard-code the list — as schemes go live, a static list silently goes stale. Call GET /api/v1/helpers/signature-methods instead. It returns exactly the values the API will accept right now, with display labels:

{
  "items": [
    { "code": "BANKID",           "label": "BankID" },
    { "code": "DK_MITID",         "label": "MitID" },
    { "code": "DK_MITID_ERHVERV", "label": "MitID Erhverv" },
    { "code": "FI_FTN",           "label": "FTN (Finnish Trust Network)" },
    { "code": "NL_IDIN",          "label": "iDIN" },
    { "code": "DRAWING",          "label": "Drawn signature" },
    { "code": "CLICK_TO_SIGN",    "label": "Click to sign" },
    { "code": "MANUAL",           "label": "Manual (in person)" },
    { "code": "NONE",             "label": "No signature" }
  ]
}

It needs only profile:read, and the list is driven by the same registry that gates the write boundary — so anything it returns is accepted, and anything it omits is not.

How It Works

Signer opens the signing link
Reviews the document content
Chooses (or is routed straight to) their national eID
Authenticates with the provider — app, card reader, or bank credentials, depending on the scheme
Returns to sajn with a verified identity and the signature applied

API Configuration

Set requiredSignature to the wire value, exactly as with BANKID:

{
  "name": "Mette Hansen",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "role": "SIGNER",
  "deliveryMethod": "EMAIL",
  "requiredSignature": "DK_MITID"
}

ssn is Swedish-specific and only applies to BANKID. The other schemes collect and verify identity through their own provider — don’t send ssn with them.

A Note on `BANKID` vs `SE_BANKID`

Internally, Swedish BankID is named SE_BANKID alongside its sibling schemes. The public API keeps BANKID as a permanent alias: responses always return BANKID, and both spellings are accepted on input. Existing integrations need no change. The same applies to the verification gate: BANKID_BEFORE_SIGNING ⇄ SE_BANKID_BEFORE_SIGNING.

Manual Signing

Manual signing is used for in-person or physical signatures. The document organizer marks the signature as complete after collecting the physical signature.

How It Works

Document is created with a signer set to manual signing
The physical signing happens outside of sajn
Organizer accesses the document in sajn
Organizer marks the signer as having signed
Document flow continues with remaining signers

Requirements

Physical presence of signer
Organizer action to confirm signing
No digital signature UI shown to signer

Best For

In-person meetings or closings
Imported legacy documents
Situations where digital signing isn’t possible
Hybrid workflows mixing digital and physical signatures

API Configuration

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "role": "SIGNER",
  "deliveryMethod": "NONE",
  "requiredSignature": "MANUAL"
}

Manual signing is typically combined with deliveryMethod: "NONE" since the signer doesn’t need a digital signing link.

Choosing the Right Method

I need the fastest signing experience

Use CLICK_TO_SIGN. It requires only two clicks and works on any device without special requirements.

I need verified signer identity

Use BANKID. It provides cryptographic identity verification and is an Advanced Electronic Signature (AES).

I want a personal, visual signature

Use DRAWING. Signers can create their own signature, providing a traditional feel.

I'm signing in person

Use MANUAL. The organizer marks the document as signed after collecting the physical signature.

I have international signers

If they’re in Denmark, Finland, Norway or the Netherlands, use their national eID — see European eID. Anywhere else, use DRAWING or CLICK_TO_SIGN: BANKID only works for signers with a Swedish personal number.

A company is signing, not a person

In Denmark, use DK_MITID_ERHVERV — it verifies organization identity rather than the individual’s.

Comparison by Use Case

Use Case	Recommended Method	Reason
Employment contracts	DRAWING or BANKID	Personal touch or verified identity
Terms acceptance	CLICK_TO_SIGN	Minimal friction
Real estate	BANKID	Legal requirement for identity
Nordic / Dutch signers	DK_MITID, FI_FTN, NO_BANKID_BIOMETRIC, NL_IDIN	Verified identity in the signer’s own country
Danish company signing	DK_MITID_ERHVERV	Organization identity rather than personal
Other international agreements	DRAWING	No national eID required
Internal approvals	CLICK_TO_SIGN	Speed and convenience
Notarized documents	MANUAL	Requires physical presence

Mixing Methods

You can assign different signing methods to different signers on the same document:

{
  "signers": [
    {
      "name": "CEO",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "ssn": "197001011234",
      "requiredSignature": "BANKID",
      "signingOrder": 1
    },
    {
      "name": "Employee",
      "email": "[email protected]",
      "requiredSignature": "DRAWING",
      "signingOrder": 2
    }
  ]
}

This allows you to require stronger verification for key signers while keeping the process simple for others.

Next Steps

Send for Signing

Learn how to send documents for signing

Identity Verification

Add extra verification steps

Signers

Learn more about signer configuration

Webhooks

Get notified when documents are signed

​Signing Methods

​SES vs AES Signatures

​Quick Comparison

​Drawing Signature

​How It Works

​Requirements

​Best For

​API Configuration

​Click-to-Sign

​How It Works

​Requirements

​Best For

​API Configuration

​BankID

​How It Works

​Signing States

​Requirements

​Best For

​API Configuration

​European eID

​Building a signature-method picker

​How It Works

​API Configuration

​A Note on BANKID vs SE_BANKID

​Manual Signing

​How It Works

​Requirements

​Best For

​API Configuration

​Choosing the Right Method

​Comparison by Use Case

​Mixing Methods

​Next Steps

Send for Signing

Identity Verification

Signers

Webhooks

Signing Methods

SES vs AES Signatures

Quick Comparison

Drawing Signature

How It Works

Requirements

Best For

API Configuration

Click-to-Sign

How It Works

Requirements

Best For

API Configuration

BankID

How It Works

Signing States

Requirements

Best For

API Configuration

European eID

Building a signature-method picker

How It Works

API Configuration

A Note on `BANKID` vs `SE_BANKID`

Manual Signing

How It Works

Requirements

Best For

API Configuration

Choosing the Right Method

Comparison by Use Case

Mixing Methods

Next Steps