The One Place Your Signature Still Matters - Cheddar Explains

Perfect handwriting and celebrity autographs don't really seem to matter anymore. And in general, no one appears to care about signatures – except in one very significant case.

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[NiamhAllStar]

I got denied a bank account first time around because my signature didn’t match what was on my passport. Which I signed when I was 14. No shit they didn’t match

[DerMikeDee]

It isn't even possible to give the fedex guy the right signature on his terminal.

[natanruman]

My signature on my licence is literally my name but the tablet they used was so shit it looks like a preschooler with a crayon.

[alicemadness]

A regular signature: 𝓙𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓜𝓪𝓭𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓸𝓷
Doctor signatures: ኗዒሀሠሃልሀ

[AdamEmond]

My signature is wacky but consistent. Election official once thought something went awry when they looked at my signature on file. Then she watched me recreate it before her eyes. She was amazed. (And allowed me to vote.)

[markoftheland]

I used to sign "batman" in most places I needed to sign in school, guess it's time to get back at doing that

[yellopenpen]

*signatures are just personal squiggles*

[CannabisTechLife]

Happened to me. My signature was rejected in 2016 because it was slightly different but marginally the same. Pissed me off to no end as I practiced my signature to submit back for verification and realized that it's ALWAYS slightly different...

[matrinoxtm]

I always thought the signature was the dumbest thing humans used to prove identity. It’s one of those things we kept because ... just because.

[lostbutfreesoul]

I made a really nice signature, one that people commented on as being 'the sort an old man would use' as it had curves and flourishes.
After purchasing 100 cashier checks, and having to sign every one at the bank, that signature became even less legible then good old Shakespeare's!
Could use those checks like a flip book, literally watching the signature change from something akin to the founding fathers to a single wormy line....

[andrewvanderaa]

I believe a signature is a way of declaring you understand, the act of signing is no different than spitting on the hand you will shake, or saying I do, at a wedding.
Validating identity should already be taken care of by that point.

[davidllewis]

In Air Force I had to sign for meals, and discovered I could eat whenever I liked because they couldn't read my signature.

[JoshSlattery]

Saying “PIN number” always makes me laugh. Personal Identification Number Number

[jenna_maria]

My actual signature is pretty close to that of my mum, we have a very similar writing style (hers looks like mine but a little more cursive, I like printed letters better for writing except for when I do calligraphy). Because of that, actual teachers have accused me of faking her signature, so I changed mine whenever I had to co-sign papers for school; the issue disappeared together with my old signature. I’m not saying they gave me an idea to fake my mum’s signature a few times during senior year... but they definitely did.

[tregenzat]

I've had the same signature since 3rd grade because I thought having one was cool.

It's also intelligible because I thought that was the point of signatures

[CSLucasEpic]

Why not use a fingerprint? Like, you send a ballot with your fingerprint on it made with ink and they need to match it to your fingerprint on a registered voter database that only has your thumb print or something like that?

[KevalPrajapatiSS]

This video doesn't relate to me. When I was younger I wanted a dope ass signature... Figured it out in high school and haven't changed it since. I sign everything with the same signature and always will. I feel like it's a part of me. It's my mark

[commanderbluy]

For a country that loves democracy. America really does suck at it a whole lot.

[overcookedwater]

How I write my signature:
1. write in my last name in cursive
2. Circle it
3. Write squiggly lines inside
4. Done

[emosmurf]

21 years in the military, and 90% of it as a supervisor of some type taught me speed-signing. my signature is consistent: an O with an illegible scrawl then vertical zig-zag. the navy floats on paperwork, and you must get through it fast.