How to get a signature from someone with no account

What you need, and what your signer needs

Your client, tenant, contractor or business partner may have no wish to create another account. With Attest they don't have to: only the sender has one.

	You, the sender	Your signer
Account	A free Attest account: your email address is enough	None. They never sign up
Setup	A signing key, once, with a passkey and a recovery phrase	A passkey, set up from their link: one prompt with most passkey providers
Device	A phone or computer with a web browser	A phone or computer with a browser that supports passkeys, such as Chrome, Safari or Edge
Cost	One of your documents: 2 free in total, then $5 a month for 20	Nothing, on any plan

A passkey is a cryptographic key only its owner controls, created for one website and unlocked with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or the device PIN. Your signer's passkey is what signs: it makes a signature over the exact document and everything they entered. On a computer with no passkey of its own, they can use their phone's passkey through the browser's "Use a phone or tablet" option.

Send it, step by step

How to send a document for signature covers every option; these are the steps that matter for a signer who is new to Attest.

1. Open Documents in the menu (it reads Agreements on accounts that use every Attest tool) and click New agreement.
2. Give it a Title your signer will recognize. It appears in their email.
3. Click Attach the document to be signed and choose a PDF of up to 8 MB. Your browser encrypts it before upload.
4. Under Signers, type your signer's email address. Click + Add signer for anyone else who signs: up to 20 signers, counting you if you sign.
5. Add a Message (optional), which your signer sees in the email and on the signing page. Tell them what to expect, for example: "Hi Mary, here is the agreement we discussed. Attest will ask you to set up a passkey with your phone's Face ID or fingerprint; there's nothing to install."
6. Click Next: place the fields and give your signer at least a signature field.
7. Click Create and send.

What your signer sees

1. An email from Attest, whose subject starts with "Signature requested". It names your email address and the title, carries your note, and has a Review and sign button. It is their own private link: it acts on this one agreement and never signs anyone in.
2. "This document is end-to-end encrypted." They click Set up with a passkey and confirm with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or their PIN. If their passkey provider can't protect the key on its own, Attest also shows them a recovery phrase to save, and they check I saved my recovery phrase. and click Continue.
3. "You're set up." The page explains that your device needs to unlock the document for them, and that you've been told. They can close it: Attest emails them the moment it's ready, with an Open and sign button, and the open page shows the document by itself.
4. Open and start signing. The document is decrypted in their browser, and Attest guides them to each of their fields.
5. Adopt your signature. The first time they click a signature, initials or full name field, they type their full name, then pick a handwriting style or draw it, and click Adopt and sign here.
6. Sign with your passkey. They confirm on their device, and the page reads Signed and sealed.

If they'd rather not sign, Decline to sign closes the document for everyone and emails you. If the document expires or you void it before they sign, their link says so as soon as they open it ("This document expired" or "This document was withdrawn").

Your part: release the document to them

Every document is end-to-end encrypted, so only its parties' browsers can open it, and Attest has no key that would let it give your signer access. When your signer sets up their passkey, Attest emails you: "[signer] is waiting for you to unlock “[title]”".

1. Click Unlock it for … in that email (or open the agreement in Attest). It opens the agreement, works from your phone too, and signs you in first if needed.
2. In the agreement's "Needs your action" panel, click Unlock it for … (or Unlock on your signer's line), check the addresses the confirmation names, confirm, and approve with your passkey. Your browser checks your signer's key against Attest's public key directory and encrypts the document key to it.
3. Attest emails your signer that it's ready.

If you haven't released it, Attest reminds you 1 hour and 6 hours after your signer is ready. On a device without your passkey, you approve with your recovery phrase instead. A signer who already has an Attest key needs no release and can open the document at once.

What "no account" means for your signer

• They never sign up, create a password or pay.
• Their link acts on one agreement only, and the passkey they set up from it can sign agreements but can never be used to sign in.
• When everyone has signed, their link opens the signed copy for 30 days; after that, signing in to Attest with their email opens it. They're also emailed a link to the certificate.
• Attest keeps what's needed to check their signature and to encrypt documents to them: their email address and name, their public key, their private key in encrypted form, and their passkey's public key. It never sees their passkey's secret, and it can't read the document.

Why a passkey instead of a plain email link

A link in an email shows that someone with access to that inbox opened it. A passkey signature adds more: it is made by a passkey registered to your signer's email address, after their device confirmed they were present and verified, over the exact document and their entries. Anyone can re-check it with any WebAuthn library. Why a signature made with your own passkey beats an email link goes into the difference.

When the last person signs

The signed state is anchored on Horizen, a public blockchain, and every party, including you if you didn't sign, is emailed a link to the certificate. Every party downloads the same sealed copy, your signer from their link with View and download the signed copy. It carries its own evidence and an open-source verifier, so anyone can check it for free at attest.datahubz.com/verify, with no account, or with the verifier inside the file, even without Attest.

What it costs

Your signer pays nothing and needs no plan. The document uses one of yours: 2 free in total, then the Signing plan at $5 a month for 20, and paid plans can be cancelled any time.