diff --git a/modules/comment/comment.module b/modules/comment/comment.module
index 1ffce389a523b056469b213fba1c832559edb5d2..03cbb546042d862d1756c90bf8553a58a8bfff3a 100644
--- a/modules/comment/comment.module
+++ b/modules/comment/comment.module
@@ -1633,7 +1633,7 @@ protected function buildQuery($ids, $conditions = array(), $revision_id = FALSE)
     $query->addField('n', 'type', 'node_type');
     $query->innerJoin('users', 'u', 'base.uid = u.uid');
     $query->addField('u', 'name', 'registered_name');
-    $query->fields('u', array('uid', 'signature', 'picture'));
+    $query->fields('u', array('uid', 'signature', 'signature_format', 'picture'));
     return $query;
   }
 
diff --git a/modules/comment/comment.pages.inc b/modules/comment/comment.pages.inc
index 089825f56802bbec7158d675ce3d2003bb589196..8e39ea3879f9369218b91da92cdec2276e4fad6c 100644
--- a/modules/comment/comment.pages.inc
+++ b/modules/comment/comment.pages.inc
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ function comment_reply($node, $pid = NULL) {
       // $pid indicates that this is a reply to a comment.
       if ($pid) {
         // Load the comment whose cid = $pid
-        $comment = db_query('SELECT c.*, u.uid, u.name AS registered_name, u.signature, u.picture, u.data FROM {comment} c INNER JOIN {users} u ON c.uid = u.uid WHERE c.cid = :cid AND c.status = :status', array(
+        $comment = db_query('SELECT c.*, u.uid, u.name AS registered_name, u.signature, u.signature_format, u.picture, u.data FROM {comment} c INNER JOIN {users} u ON c.uid = u.uid WHERE c.cid = :cid AND c.status = :status', array(
           ':cid' => $pid,
           ':status' => COMMENT_PUBLISHED,
         ))->fetchObject();
diff --git a/modules/filter/filter.install b/modules/filter/filter.install
index 6d67f70fd48ce1ff7fbc18343fef4b4fa069008a..ab3c3bdee079c10e9728ca1a5d3fe26ddfc39655 100644
--- a/modules/filter/filter.install
+++ b/modules/filter/filter.install
@@ -387,11 +387,11 @@ function filter_update_7005() {
   // Note that the update of the node body field is handled separately, in
   // node_update_7006(), as is the update of the comment body field, in
   // comment_update_7013().
-  foreach (array('block_custom') as $table) {
+  foreach (array('block_custom' => 'format', 'users' => 'signature_format') as $table => $column) {
     if (db_table_exists($table)) {
       db_update($table)
-        ->fields(array('format' => $default_format))
-        ->condition('format', 0)
+        ->fields(array($column => $default_format))
+        ->condition($column, 0)
         ->execute();
     }
   }
diff --git a/modules/user/user.install b/modules/user/user.install
index 6cc5d144d601d35e0359a8b61a61922811cd1592..0bff646bb1bd4b433bd918d045a0471a7b01c94b 100644
--- a/modules/user/user.install
+++ b/modules/user/user.install
@@ -160,6 +160,13 @@ function user_schema() {
         'default' => '',
         'description' => "User's signature.",
       ),
+      'signature_format' => array(
+        'type' => 'int',
+        'size' => 'small',
+        'not null' => TRUE,
+        'default' => 0,
+        'description' => 'The {filter_format}.format of the signature.',
+      ),
       'created' => array(
         'type' => 'int',
         'not null' => TRUE,
@@ -228,6 +235,9 @@ function user_schema() {
       'name' => array('name'),
     ),
     'primary key' => array('uid'),
+    'foreign keys' => array(
+      'signature_format' => array('filter_format' => 'format'),
+    ),
   );
 
   $schema['users_roles'] = array(
diff --git a/modules/user/user.module b/modules/user/user.module
index 1420f83f015b85be8d7a3e250114e140a071f333..8c11e64d1435cee4c792b4b20c2d6bd76bbad0c5 100644
--- a/modules/user/user.module
+++ b/modules/user/user.module
@@ -1082,11 +1082,13 @@ function user_account_form(&$form, &$form_state) {
     '#weight' => 1,
     '#access' => (!$register && variable_get('user_signatures', 0)),
   );
+
   $form['signature_settings']['signature'] = array(
-    '#type' => 'textarea',
+    '#type' => 'text_format',
     '#title' => t('Signature'),
     '#default_value' => isset($account->signature) ? $account->signature : '',
     '#description' => t('Your signature will be publicly displayed at the end of your comments.'),
+    '#format' => isset($account->signature_format) ? $account->signature_format : NULL,
   );
 
   // Picture/avatar.
@@ -1179,6 +1181,11 @@ function user_account_form_validate($form, &$form_state) {
     // Make sure the signature isn't longer than the size of the database field.
     // Signatures are disabled by default, so make sure it exists first.
     if (isset($form_state['values']['signature'])) {
+      // Move text format for user signature into 'signature_format'.
+      $form_state['values']['signature_format'] = $form_state['values']['signature']['format'];
+      // Move text value for user signature into 'signature'.
+      $form_state['values']['signature'] = $form_state['values']['signature']['value'];
+
       $user_schema = drupal_get_schema('users');
       if (drupal_strlen($form_state['values']['signature']) > $user_schema['fields']['signature']['length']) {
         form_set_error('signature', t('The signature is too long: it must be %max characters or less.', array('%max' => $user_schema['fields']['signature']['length'])));
@@ -3186,7 +3193,11 @@ function user_forms() {
  */
 function user_comment_view($comment) {
   if (variable_get('user_signatures', 0) && !empty($comment->signature)) {
-    $comment->signature = check_markup($comment->signature, $comment->format, '', TRUE);
+    // @todo This alters and replaces the original object value, so a
+    //   hypothetical process of loading, viewing, and saving will hijack the
+    //   stored data. Consider renaming to $comment->signature_safe or similar
+    //   here and elsewhere in Drupal 8.
+    $comment->signature = check_markup($comment->signature, $comment->signature_format, '', TRUE);
   }
   else {
     $comment->signature = '';
@@ -3561,6 +3572,16 @@ function user_modules_uninstalled($modules) {
      ->execute();
 }
 
+/**
+ * Implements hook_filter_format_delete().
+ */
+function user_filter_format_delete($format, $fallback) {
+  db_update('users')
+    ->fields(array('signature_format' => $fallback->format))
+    ->condition('signature_format', $format->format)
+    ->execute();
+}
+
 /**
  * Helper function to rewrite the destination to avoid redirecting to login page after login.
  *
diff --git a/modules/user/user.test b/modules/user/user.test
index bf1bbbc812b99969eeaf1990c52f0e6f100859bd..392a2cb527e954752b5afd8c3f1ee1b3bc41a7a4 100644
--- a/modules/user/user.test
+++ b/modules/user/user.test
@@ -1435,6 +1435,90 @@ class UserEditTestCase extends DrupalWebTestCase {
 }
 
 /**
+ * Test case for user signatures.
+ */
+class UserSignatureTestCase extends DrupalWebTestCase {
+  public static function getInfo() {
+    return array(
+      'name' => 'User signatures',
+      'description' => 'Test user signatures.',
+      'group' => 'User',
+    );
+  }
+
+  function setUp() {
+    parent::setUp('comment');
+
+    // Enable user signatures.
+    variable_set('user_signatures', 1);
+
+    // Prefetch text formats.
+    $this->full_html_format = db_query_range('SELECT * FROM {filter_format} WHERE name = :name', 0, 1, array(':name' => 'Full HTML'))->fetchObject();
+    $this->plain_text_format = db_query_range('SELECT * FROM {filter_format} WHERE name = :name', 0, 1, array(':name' => 'Plain text'))->fetchObject();
+
+    // Create regular and administrative users.
+    $this->web_user = $this->drupalCreateUser(array());
+    $admin_permissions = array('administer comments');
+    foreach (filter_formats() as $format) {
+      if ($permission = filter_permission_name($format)) {
+        $admin_permissions[] = $permission;
+      }
+    }
+    $this->admin_user = $this->drupalCreateUser($admin_permissions);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Test that a user can change their signature format and that it is respected
+   * upon display.
+   */
+  function testUserSignature() {
+    // Create a new node with comments on.
+    $node = $this->drupalCreateNode(array('comment' => COMMENT_NODE_OPEN));
+
+    // Verify that user signature field is not displayed on registration form.
+    $this->drupalGet('user/register');
+    $this->assertNoText(t('Signature'));
+
+    // Log in as a regular user and create a signature.
+    $this->drupalLogin($this->web_user);
+    $signature_text = "<h1>" . $this->randomName() . "</h1>";
+    $edit = array(
+      'signature[value]' => $signature_text,
+      'signature[format]' => $this->plain_text_format->format,
+    );
+    $this->drupalPost('user/' . $this->web_user->uid . '/edit', $edit, t('Save'));
+
+    // Verify that values were stored.
+    $this->assertFieldByName('signature[value]', $edit['signature[value]'], 'Submitted signature text found.');
+    $this->assertFieldByName('signature[format]', $edit['signature[format]'], 'Submitted signature format found.');
+
+    // Create a comment.
+    $langcode = LANGUAGE_NONE;
+    $edit = array();
+    $edit['subject'] = $this->randomName(8);
+    $edit['comment_body[' . $langcode . '][0][value]'] = $this->randomName(16);
+    $this->drupalPost('comment/reply/' . $node->nid, $edit, t('Preview'));
+    $this->drupalPost(NULL, array(), t('Save'));
+
+    // Get the comment ID. (This technique is the same one used in the Comment
+    // module's CommentHelperCase test case.)
+    preg_match('/#comment-([0-9]+)/', $this->getURL(), $match);
+    $comment_id = $match[1];
+
+    // Log in as an administrator and edit the comment to use Full HTML, so
+    // that the comment text itself is not filtered at all.
+    $this->drupalLogin($this->admin_user);
+    $edit['comment_body[' . $langcode . '][0][format]'] = $this->full_html_format->format;
+    $this->drupalPost('comment/' . $comment_id . '/edit', $edit, t('Save'));
+
+    // Assert that the signature did not make it through unfiltered.
+    $this->drupalGet('node/' . $node->nid);
+    $this->assertNoRaw($signature_text, 'Unfiltered signature text not found.');
+    $this->assertRaw(check_markup($signature_text, $this->plain_text_format->format), 'Filtered signature text found.');
+  }
+}
+
+/*
  * Test that a user, having editing their own account, can still log in.
  */
 class UserEditedOwnAccountTestCase extends DrupalWebTestCase {