Certinal

Certinal is a healthcare-focused consent and eSignature platform for organizations that need patient forms signed and filed into clinical records. It suits enterprise health systems more than small teams looking for an inexpensive general-purpose signer. Its healthcare workflows and EHR connections are compelling, but custom pricing makes the cost harder to weigh before engaging the vendor.

Overview

Certinal handles patient consent from capture through signing, version control, and filing to an electronic health record. Patients can complete registration and consent before an appointment through a secure link sent by SMS or email, helping health systems shift those steps into pre-visit intake. The product also supports surgical, procedure-specific, clinical trial, general treatment, and data-processing consent.

Its EHR connections are a notable fit for healthcare organizations: Certinal says it integrates directly with Epic, Oracle Cerner, MEDITECH, and OpenEMR, while other systems can connect through HL7 and FHIR APIs. It also lists connectors for Salesforce, SharePoint, Workday, SAP, Oracle, and Google. That breadth can help place consent workflows alongside existing systems, though implementation requirements will shape the work involved.

Key features

Consent and signing workflows

The Consent and Compliance Enterprise plan combines clinical and data-processing consent, multi-channel capture, EMR-native integration, identity verification, and a tamper-proof audit trail. Its stated scope includes support for 80+ languages, a useful match for health systems coordinating consent across multiple facilities and regulatory geographies. This is a more specialized proposition than a basic document-signing tool.

For broader eSignature use, Certinal supports sequential, parallel, and hybrid signing workflows. Its eSign Enterprise plan includes templates, bulk sending, real-time status, two-factor authentication, mobile and tablet signing, and a 100MB file-size limit. These features suit organizations handling varied signing routes and larger documents, although the 100MB cap is a practical boundary for very large files.

API and security

The API Enterprise plan adds REST API access, embedded signing, full white-labeling, real-time reporting, and customized workflows. The separate API Sandbox offers an Open REST API 3.0 sandbox with enterprise-level functionality, giving teams a place to work with the API before choosing an enterprise deployment.

Certinal says healthcare data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 and in transit with TLS 1.2 or higher, and that it signs a BAA for healthcare customers. It lists ISO 27001:2013, SSAE SOC I and SOC II Type 2, IRAP, and other security and privacy standards. These are relevant assurances for regulated environments, though organizations should assess them against their own compliance requirements.

Pricing

Certinal uses paid pricing, with pricing on request for its plans. It offers a two-week trial at no additional cost, which gives buyers a limited window to assess fit before committing. No seat or sending quota is stated for the plans, so teams should confirm those terms during purchasing.

Consent and Compliance Enterprise: Custom pricing for clinical and data-processing consent, multi-channel capture, EMR-native integration, 80+ languages, and identity verification. This is the clearest fit for enterprise health systems managing consent across hospitals, departments, and regulatory geographies.

eSign Enterprise: Custom pricing, with a 100MB file limit, real-time status, templates, bulk sending, two-factor authentication, and mobile and tablet signing. It fits organizations that need a fuller signing workflow beyond healthcare consent.

eSignature API Sandbox: Custom pricing for an Open REST API 3.0 sandbox and enterprise-level functionality. It is aimed at teams evaluating or developing around the API.

eSignature API Enterprise: Custom pricing for REST API access, embedded signing, full white-labeling, real-time reporting, and customized workflows. This suits organizations integrating signing into their own products or processes.

The trial lasts two weeks, but no renewal terms or plan-specific quotas are stated. Certinal says eSignature implementation can be completed within a week, subject to implementation requirements; buyers should account for their own integration and deployment needs.

Platforms

Certinal supports web, Android, and iOS, as well as API access. That combination covers browser-based administration, mobile use, and programmatic integration.

Who it's for

Certinal is best suited to enterprise health systems coordinating consent across multiple hospitals, departments, and regulatory regions, particularly those using supported EHRs or HL7 and FHIR integrations. Organizations seeking embedded signing or tailored API workflows may also find the API Enterprise plan relevant. Small practices and buyers who primarily need low-cost, general-purpose signatures are less likely to benefit from its specialized healthcare focus and custom-priced plans.

Pros and cons

Pros: Healthcare consent types cover clinical, trial, treatment, and data-processing use cases, rather than only generic document signing.

Pros: Direct connections to Epic, Oracle Cerner, MEDITECH, and OpenEMR, plus HL7 and FHIR support for other systems, give health organizations several routes to connect consent with clinical records.

Pros: API Enterprise includes embedded signing, white-labeling, reporting, and customized workflows for organizations integrating signatures into their own systems.

Cons: Pricing is custom across the plans, making it difficult to compare costs without contacting Certinal.

Cons: The eSign Enterprise file limit is 100MB, which may constrain workflows involving larger documents.

Cons: Its enterprise healthcare emphasis may be unnecessary for a small team with straightforward signing needs.

Alternatives

For a free starting point or a lower-cost general signing tool, consider Sign.Plus, which has a free plan with three signature requests total and one template, plus a Personal plan at $9.99 a month billed monthly. Dropbox Sign offers a free plan with three signature requests per month and an Essentials plan at $15 a month billed monthly, making it another option when a general-purpose signer and a defined entry price matter more than healthcare consent workflows.

Signaturely has a free plan with one document or signature request per month and audit trail and history, so it may suit very light use. Leegality is a paid option with a Basic Plan at ₹15 a month and pay-per-successful-eSign pricing, suited to buyers who prefer a credit-based model.

SignRequest offers a free plan with 10 documents per user per month and unlimited signatures; its Professional plan is €9 a month per month for one user. Skribble has a free Starter plan with one user and per-signature fees, including SES at €1, AES at €3, and QES at €5, an alternative for buyers who want signature-level pricing.

Esup-Signature is a free, open-source option that must be installed on an institution’s own server. OpenSign has a free plan with unlimited digital signatures and templates, completion certificates, sequential signing, OpenSign Drive, and email notifications.

For broader comparisons, browse E-Signature Software or Electronic Signature Software.

Verdict

Choose Certinal if your health system needs purpose-built patient consent workflows tied to EHRs, with API options for integrating signing into existing processes. Its strongest reason to buy is the combination of healthcare-specific consent and clinical-system connectivity. Look elsewhere if price transparency or a simple, low-cost general-purpose signing plan is the priority.