Signing and Witnessing a Notebook Page

  • Updated

The use of electronic signatures in the LabArchives ELN enhances research integrity and quality control while supporting 21 CFR Part 11 compliance standards. Page Signing allows authorized members to lock a page once its content is finalized. The signed page is frozen, meaning no further edits or additions can be made and includes a record of when the page was signed and by whom. The Witnessing feature adds an extra layer of verification and requires a second member with witnessing privileges to review and confirm the signed page before it is permanently locked.

Note: Page Signing and Witnessing is enabled at the individual notebook level by the Notebook Owner. Read below to learn more.

 

Enabling Page Signing and Witnessing through Notebook Settings

The Notebook Owner can manage page signing and witnessing settings through Notebook Settings. To access these settings, open the triple dot menu in the top right corner and select Notebook Settings.

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Under the Page Signing section, the Notebook Owner can choose from the following options:

  • No Page Signing (the default selection)
  • Page Signing Only (no witness)
  • Page Signing with Witnessing

These settings apply only to pages created after the change and do not affect any pages that have already been signed.

 
Assigning Page Signing and Witnessing Privileges to Notebook Members

After page signing or witnessing has been enabled, the Notebook Owner, Account Admin(s), and Notebook Admin(s) have the ability to grant signing and witnessing privileges to other members through the User Management section in Notebook Settings. 

From the User Management page, a Can Sign and Can Witness column will be visible (reflecting the options enabled by the Notebook Owner). From there, the box can be checked to apply the privilege to specific notebook members. These settings can be adjusted at any time by checking or unchecking the corresponding boxes.

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Notebook Admins, Users, and Guests with Full View Only Access can only sign pages and cannot be assigned witnessing privileges.

Note: A member’s signing or witnessing privileges cannot be removed if they have a pending witness request. The page must be witnessed and locked before their privileges can be updated.
 
How to Sign a Page

When a notebook member with page signing rights views a page, the Page Tools menu will include a Sign Page option.

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Clicking this option will prompt a verification step requiring the member to confirm the action.

A banner below the page name shows the signature, including who signed it and the date and time.

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Note: Page signing is permanent. You cannot sign a portion of a page or specific entries. You are singing the entire page and therefore all the entries on the page will be locked from further edits. 

After the page is singed and locked, the entry and page revisions history remains available, the pages can be printed or shared with other notebook members and comments can still be added. Although a signed page can be deleted, it can be recovered from the Deleted Items section in the Notebook Navigator.

 
How to Witness a Signed Page

If Page Signing with Witness is enabled, a witness must be selected by the page signer. When the page signer selects Sign Page from the  Page Tools, the Confirm Sign Page dialog will appear, prompting the signer to choose a witness before completing the signature.

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The assigned witness is notified via their Activity Feed and may also receive an email notification if pending witness notifications are enabled in their User Properties. When a page is signed and awaiting witness review, it appears with an exclamation icon in the Notebook Navigator. 

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The signature will remain marked as Pending Witness Review until the witness completes their action. You can change the assigned witness at any time before confirmation by clicking the pencil icon next to the witnessor name and selecting a new witness. 

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When the witnessor opens the page, the option will be available to Witness or Reject the page.

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If Witness is selected:

  • This signature is confirmed, the page is permanently locked and no further changes can be made.
  • The page will display timestamps for both the signer and the witness, confirming it is complete and preserved.
  • The signer will receive an email notification confirming the witness (if their pending witness email alerts are enabled).

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If Reject is selected: 

  • The signature is removed and the page is unlocked.
  • An option is available to leave a comment explaining the reason for rejection (such as missing data or other requirements).
  • The comment also appears in a yellow banner at the top of the page, along with a timestamp. This banner can be dismissed.
  • The signer receives an email notification with the comment (if pending witness email alerts are enabled).
  • If the signer makes the necessary corrections, the process can repeat and the signer can send the page back to the witnessor for their approval. 

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