Send a PDF for e-signature

This guide shows you how to send a PDF out for electronic signature: upload the document, place the fields, invite the signers, and collect a certified signed copy.

Everything happens in one place. You see who has opened the document, who has signed, and a full audit trail of every step, and nobody who signs needs an account.

Create an envelope

From the dashboard, click Signature request. This opens your envelopes list, where every request you have sent lives with its status.

The envelopes list shows each document, its signers, and how far along it is.

Click New envelope. Give it a Title, like “Consulting agreement”, and optionally a Message to signers that will accompany the invitation. Click Continue to open the prepare screen.

The title is what your signers see, so name the document clearly.

Upload the PDF

Click Upload PDF and pick the document you want signed. PDFs up to 25 MB are accepted. The pages appear in the middle of the screen, ready for fields. You can click Replace PDF at any time before sending; replacing the document clears any fields you have placed.

Add the people who need to sign

The Recipients panel on the left holds one card per signer. Fill in the full name and email, and click Add for each extra signer. Every signer gets their own colour, and the fields you place for them carry the same colour, so it is always clear who fills in what.

Each signer has two settings:

• Order sets where they come in the sequence when signing happens in turn.
• Verify by controls how they prove who they are before seeing the document. Email link only opens straight from the invitation. Access code asks for a code you share with the signer yourself. Emailed one-time code sends a fresh code to their inbox when they open the link.

Each signer has a name, an email, an order, and their own verification method.

Below the field palette sits the Sign in order switch. Turn it on and each signer is invited only once the previous one has signed. Leave it off and everyone is invited at the same time.

Place the fields

Select the signer you are placing fields for, then drag fields from the Fields palette onto the page. The palette holds Signature block, Signature, Initials, Date signed, Name, Title, Company, Email, Text and Checkbox. Drop a field where it belongs, then move or resize it directly on the page.

Fields carry the signer’s colour, so a two-signer contract stays readable.

A few field types do the work for you:

• Date signed is stamped automatically at the moment of signing.
• Signature block is a complete sign-off in one drop: a signature line plus name, title, company and date lines you can toggle, and an optional role heading like “For the Company”.
• Text and Checkbox fields have a Field label shown to the signer and a Required switch.

Every signer must have at least one Signature, Initials or Signature block field, and the app will not send without it.

Send it out

Click Send. A confirmation explains what happens: with signing order on, the first signer is invited now and everyone else in turn; otherwise every signer is invited at once. The document is locked once it goes out. Confirm with Send and the invitations are emailed.

What your signers see

Each signer opens a personal link. If you chose an access code or a one-time code, they first pass a short Verify it is you step. Then they see the document with their fields highlighted, and a Go to signature button that jumps straight to the right spot.

The signer reviews the document and clicks the highlighted box to sign.

Clicking the box opens Your signature, where they draw the signature or type their name. Before finishing, they tick the consent line agreeing to sign electronically, then click Finish signing. A signer can also Decline, with an optional reason that comes back to you.

Draw or type the signature. The date is filled in automatically.

On a phone, the fields move into a Complete your details panel above the document, so nothing has to be typed into a tiny page.

Track progress

Open any sent envelope to see its status page: every signer with their state, when they viewed and when they signed. From here you can also:

• Resend an invitation to anyone who has not signed yet.
• Sign here hands your own device to a signer sitting next to you, for signing in person.
• Withdraw cancels the request. Outstanding links stop working and waiting signers are told, with a reason you write.

Below the signers sits the Audit trail: a numbered log of every event, from “Envelope created” through “Identity verified” and “Signed” to “Completed”, each with its time and IP address. A “Hash chain verified” badge confirms the log has not been tampered with.

Every step is on record: who opened, who verified, who signed, and when.

Download the signed document

Once everyone has signed, the status page offers two downloads: the Signed document, the final PDF with every signature stamped in place, and the Certificate, a summary of the signing with the full audit history. Signers who finished are emailed the completed document as well.

Need a signature inside a form instead, collected with the response? See Add e-signatures with multiple signers.