Equifax Inc. has announced a partnership with DocuSign, Inc. to make it easier, faster, and more secure for individuals and businesses to electronically sign and submit an essential mortgage lending Internal Revenue Service's Requests for Transcript of Tax Return form, known as the "4506-T." The companies will help the IRS streamline processing of more than 25 million 4506-T forms it receives annually. The expediting of these forms electronically is anticipated to help stimulate and accelerate business for mortgage lenders, credit unions, credit card companies, and other lending institutions. Although the most significant and immediate impact will be in mortgage origination, this advancement is also expected to expand the use of IRS income verification in other decisioning environments such as government benefits allocation and pre-employment screening.

Equifax clients will still have the ability to submit manually signed forms, or eSigned forms completed prior to placing the tax transcript order, allowing the lender to integrate this advancement into their workflow at their pace. To address the IRS's requirements for an eSignature platform, DocuSign delivers: Secure Authentication: DocuSign offers Single Sign On (SSO), knowledge-based and multi-factor authentication options to ensure the right person signs the right document every time. Consumer Consent: DocuSign ensures consumers consent to doing business electronically with the Federal government via a one-page consent form presented to the signer after authentication and prior to signing.

Separate Audit Trail: Every DocuSigned document includes a separate certificate of completion and legally binding audit trail with detail on who signed, when and where. Tamper Proof: Documents are encrypted on the DocuSign network to prevent tampering and ensure validity.