Adding Recipients, Roles, and Signature Fields

A signing envelope is only as good as its setup: the right people, in the right order, signing in the right places. This guide covers recipients, roles, security, and field placement in detail. All of this happens while the envelope is still a draft — once it's sent, recipients and fields are locked.

Recipient roles

Every recipient you add has a role that determines what they do:

• Signer — must complete their fields and sign. Signers are the ones whose signatures make the agreement binding.
• Approver — like a signer, must act on the envelope; use this for an internal approval step alongside external signers.
• CC — receives a copy for their records but doesn't sign.
• Viewer — can view the envelope but takes no signing action.

An envelope must have at least one signer or approver before it can be sent. CCs and viewers alone aren't enough.

Add a recipient

1. With the envelope in draft, choose Add recipient.
2. Enter the recipient's name and a valid email — the email is required and must be well-formed.
3. Choose the role (signer, approver, CC, or viewer).
4. Set the routing order (a number) if you're using ordered signing — lower numbers sign first.
5. Optionally set an access code (see below).
6. Save. The recipient is added to the draft.

Signing order

If the envelope has ordered signing enabled, recipients sign in the sequence set by their routing order. A signer can't sign until everyone with a lower routing order (who is a signer or approver) has signed — StretchContracts enforces this and will tell a signer "earlier recipients must sign first" if they try to jump the queue. Leave ordered signing off if everyone can sign in parallel.

Access-code security

For sensitive agreements, protect a recipient with an access code — a shared secret they must enter before they can view or sign. When a recipient has an access code:

• They must provide the correct code to open their signing session.
• StretchContracts protects against guessing: after 5 failed attempts within 15 minutes, the recipient is locked out for 15 minutes.
• Failed attempts are recorded in the audit trail.

Share the access code with the recipient through a separate channel (a phone call or a message), never in the same email as the signing link.

Field types and placement

Fields tell each recipient exactly what to complete and where. Available field types:

• Signature — the recipient's signature.
• Initials — initials, often used per page or per clause.
• Date — the date of signing.
• Text — a free-text entry (title, company, a filled-in blank).
• Checkbox — a check to acknowledge or opt in.

Add a field

1. With the envelope in draft, choose Add field.
2. Select the recipient the field belongs to — every field is tied to one recipient.
3. Choose the type (signature, initials, date, text, or checkbox).
4. Set the page and the field's position and size on that page.
5. Mark it required (the default) or optional. Required fields must be completed before that recipient can submit.
6. Save. Repeat for each field each recipient needs.

A signer typically gets at least one signature field and often a date field; add text or checkbox fields wherever the document needs specific input or an acknowledgement.

A realistic example

For a two-party NDA, Aisha adds two recipients: the counterparty as a signer (routing order 1) and her own legal lead as an approver (routing order 2), with ordered signing on so legal countersigns last. Because the NDA covers unreleased product plans, she sets an access code for the counterparty and phones it to them separately. She places a signature and date field for each recipient on the last page, plus a checkbox for the counterparty to acknowledge the confidentiality term. She sends; the counterparty enters their code, signs, and only then is legal unblocked to countersign.

Tips

• Add every required field before sending. A signer can't submit until all their required fields are filled, so missing fields stall the signing.
• Tie each field to the correct recipient. A field belongs to exactly one person; double-check before sending.
• Use access codes for confidential or high-value agreements, and always share the code out of band.
• Keep routing orders distinct when using ordered signing so the sequence is unambiguous.

Troubleshooting

"Recipients can only be added while the envelope is draft." The envelope has been sent. You can't change recipients after sending — void it and start a new draft.

"A valid recipient email is required." The email is missing or malformed. Enter a proper address (name@domain.tld).

"Recipient not found for envelope." You're trying to add a field for a recipient who isn't on this envelope. Add the recipient first, then their fields.

A signer is locked out. They exceeded 5 access-code attempts in 15 minutes. The lockout clears automatically after 15 minutes; confirm you've given them the correct code.