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Workflow Playbook
Preserve the original PDF hash, compare it with a trusted reference checksum, verify embedded signatures, and record certificate-chain findings without treating tool output as legal validity or proof of signer identity.
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This workflow is for document reviewers, records teams, and security engineers who need a defensible technical record for a signed PDF. Save the received bytes as an evidence copy. Note where it came from, which version was received, and when it was acquired. Hash that copy before opening it in an editor or running a repair.
Use file-hash-verifier with the declared algorithm and retain the digest together with the file metadata. Then use checksum-comparator to compare it with the reference value from the approved source. A match means the two values describe the same bytes under the chosen algorithm; it does not prove that the reference publisher authored the PDF. A mismatch should remain a visible failure with its source and algorithm recorded.
Run pdf-signature-verify on the preserved PDF. Record verification, document integrity, expiry, signature count, signer metadata, and available issuer, subject, validity, and chain details. Review those findings against a separate trust policy, including the expected issuer or fingerprint and any revocation rules. Keep four conclusions distinct: byte integrity, cryptographic signature status, certificate trust, and human or legal review. Tool results do not automatically create legal validity or guarantee the signer's identity.
Accept only when the evidence fields required by your policy are present and consistent. If any digest, signature, certificate, or trust field is missing, expired, unknown, or contradictory, preserve the original evidence and route the document for human review instead of trying alternate copies until one passes.
Workflow playbook
Use the unchanged PDF with the selected algorithm and save the calculated digest, filename, size, source, and acquisition details before any operation could alter the bytes.
Compare the saved digest with the independently obtained checksum, confirm that both refer to the same PDF and algorithm, and retain the exact mismatch details if they differ.
Run signature verification on the preserved PDF and record overall verification, document integrity, expiry, signature count, and signer metadata returned by the tool.
Review the returned issuer, subject, validity period, and certificate-chain details against the approved trust policy. Keep certificate trust and signer-identity or legal review as separate human decisions.
Hash the exact preserved file before opening, repairing, converting, or redacting it. If a later copy is reviewed, record that it is a different artifact rather than overwriting the original evidence.
A match shows that the checked bytes agree with the supplied reference under the same algorithm. It is only as trustworthy as the reference source and does not by itself establish authorship or legal effect.
Separate signature validity, document integrity, certificate dates, chain details, issuer trust, and signer identity review. A mathematically valid signature under an untrusted or unsuitable certificate remains an escalation, not an automatic approval.