E-signatures foreverything but the return.

1. 01

   Identity verification stays with you

   CRA expects that identity verification has been performed by the party receiving the signed form. An electronic signature does not replace your know-your-client obligations.

   Your responsibility

   Easy Sign never verifies who your client is. We record how and when a link was opened and signed — the identity judgment is yours, and CRA intends it that way.

2. 02

   How the signature reaches you

   For signatures not applied in your presence, CRA accepts a form sent through the electronic address most recently provided, or through an access-controlled, secured electronic location — such as a secure website made known to the individual, to which you granted access.

   Matches the secure-link route

   Every recipient gets a one-time link, emailed to the address you entered, valid for seven days. Nobody else can reach that document, and no account is created.

3. 03

   Your tool does not have to be part of your tax software

   In CRA’s words: electronic filers can also offer signature solutions of their choice that operate or function independently of EFILE software.

   Explicitly permitted

   This is the sentence most practices miss. You are not required to sign everything inside the package that transmits your returns — and for the documents around the return, you probably should not.

4. 04

   Certain forms need a date-and-time stamp

   CRA specifies Year/month/day and HH/MM/SS — to the second — and notes that filers may need to adjust the formatting settings in their signature service so the date and time appear on the signed form.

   Usable for the T183 family

   Our server applies the stamp at the moment a signature is placed — 2026-08-17 20:15:33 EDT, Year-month-day and HH:MM:SS to the second, on the clock of the account that sent the envelope rather than the browser that signed. Drop a “Signed at” field onto the Year/Month/Day HH MM SS boxes in Part F and the stamp is printed there when your client signs. Reading it off the form and keying it into your tax software before you transmit stays your step.

5. 05

   Keep the certificate of completion

   CRA asks filers to retain the signature service’s certificate of completion alongside the signed forms — especially important when the signed copy does not display a timestamp.

   Included on every file

   Every completed envelope produces a signature audit certificate: transaction ID, SHA-256 hash of each file, and a full timeline of views, consent, and signatures — each event stamped to the second on a 24-hour UTC clock, with IP address and device recorded at the moment of signing. For each signature a signer applies it also records a “Signature applied” line carrying that signature’s own stamp verbatim, in the sending account’s timezone rather than UTC. It downloads with the document.

6. 06

   Six years, in readable form

   A T183 and its retained copy are deemed records under section 230 of the Income Tax Act, which requires records to be kept for six years from the end of the last taxation year they relate to — and electronic records to stay electronically readable.

   Export it at close

   We are the signing step, not the archive: free-tier envelopes are permanently deleted 30 days after they are created, your client’s signing link lasts 7 days, and a lapsed Pro subscription takes its documents 60 days later — so the six years have to live in your own document system, not ours. Download the signed PDF and its certificate as part of closing the file.

Every certificate stands on its own: on our public verification page, enter the transaction ID and upload the signed PDF to confirm the file has not been altered — no account, and it works for anyone you hand the document to.

This is a description of what our product does, not tax or legal advice. CRA updates its guidance; before you change a firm process, read the source and apply your own professional judgment.