Signature

A signature (/ˈsɪɡnɪtʃər, ˈsɪɡnətʃər/; from Latin: signare, "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent.

The legal rule is that unless a statute specifically prescribes a particular method of making a signature it may be made in any number of ways.

As an example, the final "k" in John Hancock's famous signature on the US Declaration of Independence loops back to underline his name.

These are typically used by people required to sign a lot of printed matter, such as celebrities, heads of state or CEOs.

[4] More recently, Members of Congress in the United States have begun having their signature made into a TrueType font file.

This allows staff members in the Congressman's office to easily reproduce it on correspondence, legislation, and official documents.

In many countries, signatures must be made, witnessed and recorded in the presence of a notary public to carry legal force in specific contexts.

[citation needed] Handwriting experts say "it is extremely difficult for anyone to be able to figure out if a signature or other very limited writing sample has been forged.

[17] Voters with short names are at a disadvantage, since experts make more mistakes on signatures with fewer "turning points and intersections."

[17] A more recent study for the US Department of Justice confirms the probabilistic nature of signature verification, though it does not provide numbers.

A shortened form of a signature block, only including one's name, often with some distinguishing prefix, can be used to simply indicate the end of a post or response.

For guidance applicable in England and Wales on the use of pre-signed signature pages being subsequently attached to documents to effect a "virtual" signing, see Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989#Validity of execution under Mercury.

A notorious case was the signature of Johannes Vermeer on the fake "Supper at Emmaus" made by the art-forger Han van Meegeren.

The Uniform Commercial Code §3-401(b) for negotiable instruments states "A signature may be made (i) manually or by means of a device or machine, and (ii) by the use of any name, including a trade or assumed name, or by a word, mark, or symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing."