Recipient Roles
Recipient roles define who must take action on an agreement and what that action is. Templates use roles as placeholders — you assign real people to roles when you send.
Supported roles
| Role | Description | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Signer | Must complete all required tags assigned to them. The agreement cannot finalize until all signers finish. | Anyone who must sign or provide required information. |
| Receives a Copy | Gets a copy of the completed agreement by email. No action required from them during signing. | Stakeholders who need visibility — HR, legal, finance, or anyone who should receive the final document. |
| In-Person Signer | Signs in person on a device hosted by the sender. The sender facilitates the session on a shared device. | Kiosk-style or face-to-face signing situations where the signer does not have their own device or email. |
Additional roles exist in the system (including Witness, Notary, Approver, and others) for specialized workflows. Contact support if your workflow requires a role not listed here.
Routing order
Routing order controls when each recipient receives their signing invitation.
Sequential routing
Assign different routing order numbers to create a step-by-step flow. Each recipient receives their invitation only after the previous step is complete.
Order 1: HR Manager (signs first)
Order 2: New Employee (receives invitation after HR Manager completes)
Order 3: HR Records (Receives a Copy after all signers complete)
Parallel routing
Assign the same routing order number to multiple recipients for simultaneous signing. All recipients in that step receive their invitations at the same time.
Order 1: Partner A + Partner B (both receive invitations simultaneously)
Order 2: Legal team (Receives a Copy after both partners sign)
You can mix sequential and parallel within the same template. For example, two approvers sign in parallel at step 1, then the final signer at step 2 receives the invitation once both have completed.
Creating roles in the template editor
- Click Add Recipient.
- Enter a descriptive role name.
- Select the role type (Signer, Receives a Copy, or In-Person Signer).
- Set the routing order number.
- Click Save (or move on to the next recipient).
Naming guidelines:
- Use descriptive names that reflect the person's function: "Hiring Manager", "External Consultant", "Legal Reviewer".
- Avoid generic names like "Signer 1" or "Person A" — they are confusing when you have multiple roles.
Assigning tags to roles
After creating roles, assign each tag to the appropriate role:
- Place the tag on the document.
- Select the tag.
- In the properties panel, set Assigned To to the desired role.
Each signer sees and interacts only with the tags assigned to their role.
Color coding
Roles are color-coded in the template editor to help you visually track which tags belong to which role. Colors appear on tag borders, role tabs, and the recipient list panel.
| Role position | Color |
|---|---|
| Role 1 | Blue |
| Role 2 | Amber |
| Role 3 | Green |
| Role 4 | Purple |
| Role 5 | Red |
Assigning real people when sending
When you send an agreement from a template, the Assign Recipients step appears. Enter the name and email address for each role. If one person should fill multiple roles (for example, an HR manager who is both an approver and a record-keeper), you can assign the same person to multiple roles.
Common workflow patterns
Employment agreement
Order 1: "HR Manager" — Signer (approves offer)
Order 2: "New Employee" — Signer (accepts offer)
Order 3: "HR Records" — Receives a Copy (files the document)
Vendor contract with parallel review
Order 1: "Procurement Manager" — Signer (parallel)
Order 1: "Legal Reviewer" — Signer (parallel, signs simultaneously)
Order 2: "Vendor Representative" — Signer (receives invitation after both reviewers complete)
Order 3: "Finance" — Receives a Copy
Simple two-party agreement
Order 1: "Party A" — Signer
Order 2: "Party B" — Signer
Best practices
- Put approvers before signers — Route internal approvals first so signers see the final, approved document.
- Place "Receives a Copy" roles last — They should receive the completed document, so assign them the highest order number (or the same as the last signer step for same-time delivery).
- Test routing before launch — Send a test agreement with your own email in every role to verify each invitation arrives in the expected order.
Next steps
- Creating Templates — build a template with roles
- Tag Types — understand what each tag type captures
- Sending an Agreement — assign real people to roles at send time