In a bid to modernise its document processing, Sevenoaks District Council has announced a move to implement digital signature technology from Yoti across its Housing department.

The Council, located in Kent, is keen to cut admin-intensive processes using a secure approach. Currently an organiser of public services for 120,000 citizens and employing approximately 425 staff across 16 departments, the decision to incorporate Yoti’s eSign and eWitnessing platform will ensure smoother operations council-wide.

The move will support the council in reducing time and costs relating to sending, signing and managing documents, as well as reducing daily paper use, providing a more environmentally friendly approach to their work.

Previously, officers relied on printing and sending documents via post - both proving time absorbing and difficult to manage during remote working. Yoti’s eSignature platform allows documents to be managed from a central location and for a digital copy to be sent to the customer via email. On average, businesses using Yoti benefit from improved document signing speeds with 85 per cent of documents being signed within the first 24 hours.

Based in London, Yoti provides identity verification, eSignature and age verification technology. It boasts a rapidly growing eSignature division delivering services for several prominent organisations including Connells group, RIBA, GiGroup and Countrywide. The company has recently launched its ground-breaking electronic witnessing solution.

Cllr Kevin Maskell, Sevenoaks District Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “We’re always looking for more efficient and innovative ways of working, and Yoti’s eSign technology ticks both of these boxes. At a time when there is greater demand for our housing services than ever, eSign is speeding up the processing of applications while providing a more convenient service for our clients. It also cuts down on paper, helping with our ambitions to become a Net Zero carbon council by 2030”.

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