Electronic Signature (eSig)

<p>Beginning with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998 (GPEA), the Federal government has encouraged the use of electronic / digital signatures to enable electronic transactions with agencies, while still providing a means for proof of user consent and non-repudiation. To support this capability, some means of reliable user identity management must exist. Currently, Veterans have to physically print, sign, and mail various documents that, in turn, need to be processed by VA. This process creates a huge inconvenience on the part of the veteran and a financial burden on VA. eSig enables veterans and their surrogates to digitally sign forms that require a high level of verification that the user signing the document is a legitimate and authorized user. In addition, eSig provides a mechanism for VA applications to verify the authenticity of user documents and data integrity on user forms. This capability is enabled by the eSig service. The eSig service signing process includes the following steps: 1. Form Signing Attestation: The user affirms their intent to electronically sign the document and understands re-authentication is part of that process. 2. Re-Authentication: The user must refresh their authentication by repeating the authentication process. 3. Form Signing: The form and the identity of the user are presented to the eSig service, where they are digitally bound and secured. 4. Form Storage: The signed form must be stored for later validation. In this process, the application is entirely responsible for steps 1, 2, and 4. In step 3, the application must use the eSig web service to request signing of the document. The following table lists the detailed functions offered by the eSig service.</p>