Download DOCX Signer (Free 30-Day Trial)
DOCX Signer is a Windows application that digitally signs Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX) with X.509 digital certificates, smart cards and USB tokens. It creates the native digital signatures of Microsoft Office, so the people who receive your documents see and verify the signatures directly in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, without installing anything. Add a visible signature line with your handwritten signature, let several people sign the same contract, add a trusted time stamp, and sign a single document or thousands of documents in one operation, from the program window or automatically from the command line.
Lifetime license from 19 EUR – Free 30-day trial – 60 day money back guarantee – no subscription, no per-document fees. See prices and buy.
Digital Signatures Recognized by Microsoft Office
A document signed with DOCX Signer contains the same kind of digital signature that Microsoft Office creates with File – Info – Protect Document – Add a Digital Signature. When the document is opened, Word, Excel and PowerPoint show that it is signed, list the signers in the Signatures pane, open the document as read-only and check the certificate of each signer. If anybody changes even one character after signing, Office reports the signature as invalid.
A contract signed by two people with DOCX Signer, as Microsoft Word shows it. The demo certificates are self-signed, so Word adds “Recoverable Signature”; with a certificate from a trusted certification authority, this warning does not appear.
The signature is stored inside the Office file: the content of the document is not changed, and no separate signature file has to be sent. Unlike cloud e-signature services, DOCX Signer signs on your own computer, with your own certificate: your documents are never uploaded, there is no account to create for the signers, and there are no fees per document or per envelope.
Electronic Signature Laws and Certificate-Based Digital Signatures
In the United States, the ESIGN Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), adopted by most states, give electronic signatures the same legal effect as handwritten signatures: a contract cannot be denied legal effect only because it was signed electronically. A digital signature created with an X.509 certificate goes further than a typed name or a scanned image: it identifies the signer through his certificate and proves that the document was not changed after signing, which makes it strong evidence in case of a dispute.
Many countries in Asia have laws dedicated to certificate-based digital signatures, for example India (Information Technology Act, Digital Signature Certificates issued by licensed certification authorities), Singapore (Electronic Transactions Act), Malaysia (Digital Signature Act), Japan (Act on Electronic Signatures and Certification Business) and Hong Kong (Electronic Transactions Ordinance). DOCX Signer signs with the certificate you choose, including DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) USB tokens and smart cards. The legal value of a signature depends on the certificate, on its issuer and on the law that applies to your documents.
Benefits:
– Native Microsoft Office digital signatures, verified in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
– Visible signature lines with a handwritten signature image (Word)
– Several signers on the same document, each on his own signature line
– Support for smart cards, USB tokens, DSC tokens and HSM certificates
– RSA and Elliptic Curve (ECDSA) certificates
– RFC 3161 time stamping and long-term validation (OCSP and CRL)
– SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512 support
– Purpose, commitment type, role and place of the signature
– Bulk signing of folders and automatic signing from the command line
– Bypass smart card/USB token PIN for automatic signing
– Verification of the signatures included
– Documents are signed locally: nothing is uploaded
Features
Visible Signature Line with Handwritten Signature – DOCX Signer adds an Office signature line to a Word document, or signs a signature line that already exists (created in Word with Insert – Signature Line). The line shows the name, the title and the e-mail of the signer, the date and your handwritten signature image (PNG, JPEG, BMP or GIF) or a typed signature. Choose the alignment of the line (left, center, right). When the document is changed after signing, Word marks the line as Invalid signature. Excel and PowerPoint documents receive an invisible signature.
Multiple Signers and Approval Workflows – Prepare a contract for several signers in one step: DOCX Signer adds one signature line for each signer (name, title, e-mail and signing instructions). Each signer then signs his own line, with DOCX Signer or directly in Word. Every new signature is added to the document and the existing signatures remain valid, so a document can be approved by a manager, a financial officer and a customer, in order.
Signer Details – Each signature can include the commitment type (for example Approved this document or Created and approved this document), the purpose for signing, the role of the signer and the place of signing. These details are signed, and Office shows them in the details of the signature.
Certificates, Smart Cards, USB Tokens and DSC – DOCX Signer is completely PKI neutral and will work with PKI components from any vendor (this includes CAs, certificates, CRLs, smart cards, etc.). You can sign with a certificate from the Windows certificate store (smart card, USB token and DSC token certificates are added to the store by the driver of the token), or with a PFX/P12 file.
Bypass the Smart Card PIN – For automatic signing you can save the PIN of the smart card or of the USB token. It is stored encrypted and it belongs to the selected certificate. If the device rejects the PIN, DOCX Signer stops using it, so the token is not locked by repeated wrong attempts.
Time Stamping – Add a RFC 3161 time stamp, issued by a time stamp authority (TSA), to prove the exact time of the signature. The time stamp shows that the document existed and was signed at that moment, independently of the clock of the signer’s computer. You can configure the TSA address, the authentication, the policy and the use of a nonce. Only a hash is sent to the TSA: your document does not leave your computer.
Long-Term Validation – The long-term format embeds the certificates and the revocation data (OCSP responses or CRLs) of the signer and of the time stamp authority, so the signature can still be verified after the certificate expires.
| Signature format | What it contains | Typical use |
| XAdES-B (basic) | The signature, the signer’s certificate and the signing time, as Microsoft Office creates them | Contracts, offers, reports and everyday business documents |
| XAdES-T (time stamp) | B plus a trusted RFC 3161 time stamp | When the exact time of the signature must be proven |
| XAdES-LT (long term) | T plus the certificates and the revocation data (OCSP or CRL) | Documents that must remain verifiable for years |
SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512 Algorithms – DOCX Signer can digitally sign Office documents using the SHA-256, SHA-384 or SHA-512 hash algorithms. The older SHA-1 algorithm is not used for new signatures.
Bulk and Automatic Signing – Select an input folder and an output folder and DOCX Signer signs all the Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents of the folder (DOCX, DOCM, XLSX, XLSM, PPTX, PPTM), with a progress indicator. The same operation can run without user intervention from the command line, from a script or from the Windows Task Scheduler. Different signature configurations (certificate, visible signature, time stamp) can be saved in files and used for different folders. The program returns a result code (0 for success) and writes the log files, so the process can be monitored.
Built on the Signature Library – DOCX Signer uses the same Signature Library (SignLib) that is available to developers. You can test a signature format, a visible signature or a certificate in the program and then create the same signatures from your own application in C#, VB.NET or Windows PowerShell, on .NET Framework or .NET 8 and .NET 9. See Digitally Sign an Office Document in Visual Studio with C#.
Where DOCX Signer Is Used
– Contracts, agreements, quotations and purchase orders signed by one or several parties
– Offer letters, NDAs and HR documents
– Internal approvals: policies, procedures, technical and quality documents
– Financial reports and budgets in Excel, presentations for boards and customers
– Large volumes of documents generated by business applications and signed automatically
– Organizations that use Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) on USB tokens
DOCX Signer is a good choice when you work with Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and want certificate-based signatures that your partners can check in Microsoft Office, without a cloud service and without a subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the recipients need DOCX Signer to see the signatures?
No. The signatures are the native digital signatures of Microsoft Office: Word, Excel and PowerPoint (Office 2010 or later) show them and verify them.
Can I add a visible signature with my handwritten signature?
Yes, in Word documents. DOCX Signer adds or signs an Office signature line and draws your handwritten signature image (or a typed signature) on it. Excel and PowerPoint documents receive an invisible signature.
Can several people sign the same document?
Yes. Prepare the document with one signature line for each signer, then each signer signs his own line, with DOCX Signer or in Word. The existing signatures remain valid.
Can I sign with a smart card, a USB token or a DSC token?
Yes. Install the driver of the token, select its certificate from the Windows certificate store and, if you wish, save the PIN for automatic signing.
Are my documents sent to a server?
No. The documents are signed on your computer. An Internet connection is used only for the time stamp (a hash is sent to the time stamp server) and for the revocation data of the long-term format.
Is there a subscription?
No. The license is a lifetime license, without monthly or annual fees and without fees per document.
Which file formats are supported?
Word (DOCX, DOCM), Excel (XLSX, XLSM) and PowerPoint (PPTX, PPTM). The old DOC, XLS and PPT formats must be saved in the new format first.
Can I sign many documents automatically?
Yes. Select an input folder and an output folder, or start DOCX Signer from the command line with the source, the destination and an optional configuration file.
What happens if a signed document is changed?
Word, Excel and PowerPoint report the signature as invalid, and the signature line shows Invalid signature. DOCX Signer reports it in the Verify Signatures window.
Requirements:
– An X.509 digital certificate (smart cards, USB tokens and DSC tokens are supported)
– Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6.2 or higher
– Windows 8 or later (including Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022)
– Microsoft Office is not required to sign; Office 2010 or later shows the signatures
Licensing:
The license for DOCX Signer is a lifetime license. There is no additional cost like monthly / annual fees or fees per use. When a new version is released you can continue using your purchased version as usual.
The technical support and updates are free for 12 months after purchase. If you need help with our software, please contact us to receive prompt assistance from our technical support team. We offer free before-and-after purchase technical support for our programs. Technical support is provided by email only. Email response time is usually less than 24 hours.
60 Day Money Back Guarantee – If you are not pleased with our software for any reason, you are entitled to our 60 day no hassle, no questions asked, money back guarantee.
Buy DOCX Signer
| License type | Price (€) |
Buy with PayPal | Buy with credit card | |
| Single License (for 1 computer) |
19 EUR Lifetime License |
 |
||
| Technical Support | The technical support is free for 12 months after purchase | |||
Download DOCX Signer (Free 30-Day Trial)
(latest version: 3.1)
Useful links:
- Digitally Sign an Office Document in Visual Studio with C#
- Digitally Sign an Office Document (.DOCX, .XLSX, .PPTX) in PowerShell
- Signature Library for .NET
- Time Stamp Server
- Digital Certificates
- PDF Signer
- XML Signer
- P7S Signer