Document Lifecycle
Track document progress through draft, pending, completed, and rejected states.
Document States
A document can be in one of four states:
| State | Description |
|---|---|
| Draft | Document is being prepared and has not been sent |
| Pending | Document has been sent and is awaiting recipient actions |
| Completed | All recipients have completed their required actions |
| Rejected | A recipient has rejected the document (when rejection is enabled) |
How a Document Moves Through States
Draft
When you upload a document or create one from a template, it starts in the Draft state. In this state, you can:
- Add and remove recipients
- Assign roles to recipients (signer, approver, viewer, CC)
- Add, move, and configure fields
- Set signing order
- Configure document settings (expiration, reminders, rejection)
- Delete the document
A draft document is only visible to you (the owner) and team members with appropriate permissions. Recipients cannot see or access the document until you send it.
Transition: A draft becomes Pending when you send it to recipients.
Pending
Once sent, a document enters the Pending state. Recipients receive email notifications with links to view and complete their assigned actions.
While pending, you can:
- View recipient progress
- Resend notifications to recipients
- Void the document (cancels all pending actions)
You cannot modify the document content, recipients, or fields while it is pending.
Transitions:
- Becomes Completed when all recipients finish their required actions
- Becomes Rejected if any recipient rejects the document (requires rejection to be enabled)
Completed
A document reaches the Completed state when all recipients have fulfilled their roles:
- Signers have signed
- Approvers have approved
- Viewers have viewed (if view confirmation is required)
At completion:
- All parties receive a copy of the signed document
- The document is sealed with a digital certificate
- An audit log is attached showing all actions taken
Completed documents cannot be modified. You can download the signed PDF or view the audit trail.
Rejected
If you enable document rejection in settings, recipients can reject instead of signing. When any recipient rejects:
- The document immediately moves to Rejected state
- Other pending recipients can no longer act on the document
- The document owner is notified
Rejected documents cannot be modified or reactivated. To proceed, you need to create a new document.
Related Concepts
- Recipient Roles - The different roles recipients can have
- Field Types - Fields you can add to documents
- Signing Workflow - How the signing process works for recipients