How to Check If My Document is LTV Enabled?

Do you know why is it important to know the time and date when a PDF document was signed in order to validate a certificate? If not, let me answer this.

It’s important as it provides the record of what state the certificate was in at the time of signing. But what if a document was digitally timestamped, say, 20 years back, will you still be able to validate it?

No, it’s highly un-likely. This was a hurdle that was coming in verifying the authenticity and integrity of the document. Hence, to overcome this hurdle the concept of LTV emerged.

But what is this LTV? In this piece, we will provide you the answer and to extend your knowledge will also answer two of the most common questions that people ask in relation to LTV, which are:

• How to check if your doc is LTV enabled?
• If it’s not enabled, then how can it be enabled?

What is LTV?

In digital signing, the key concept LTV or Long Term Validation, proves the state of the certificate when it (the certificate) was used for signing a document.

To say it in plain words, it allows one to verify the digital signature long after the expiration date of the certificate. LTV’s significance lies in its ability to render the signature indisputable through digital timestamping, thus establishing a secure foundation for certificate validation.

How to Check if Your Document is LTV Enabled?

Follow the steps mentioned below to check if the doc is LTV enabled or not:

• Click Search, placed on the taskbar.
• Type Acrobat Reader DC and press Enter.
• The Adobe Acrobat Reader DC window will appear.
• In the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC window, click File.
• From the list, click Open.
• Browse and select the signed document that you want to check.
• Click Open.
• In the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC window, click Signature Panel.
• Under the Signature section, click the toggle button placed adjacent to the signature you want to inspect.
• Under the “The signature includes an embedded timestamp” line, verify whether the LTV option is enabled or not.
  • If the LTV option is enabled, you can see the “Signature is LTV enabled” line.
  • If the LTV option is not enabled, you will see a line stating something as “Signature is not LTV enabled and will expire after 2024/04/10 18:56:42 Z“.

How to Enable Long Term Validation (LTV) for an Existing Signature?

Follow the steps mentioned below to enable Long Term Validation for an existing signature:

• Click Search, placed on the taskbar.
• Type Acrobat Reader DC and press Enter.
• The Adobe Acrobat Reader DC window will appear.
• In the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC window, click File.
• From the list, click Open.
• Browse and select the signed document.
• Click Open.
• In the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC window, click Signature Panel.
• Right-click the signature on which you want to insert LTV data.
• From the list, click Add Verification Information.
• The Acrobat Reader dialogue box will appear.
• In the dialogue box, verify that the Successfully added selected signature verification information line is shown.
• In the Acrobat Reader dialogue box, click OK.

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