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An envelope is a container that holds documents to be sent to recipients for signature. It defines and manages the signing process for those documents. When an envelope is completed, a deliverable is generated and sent to the recipients.

Relationships

An envelope:
  • Has one or more recipients (signers, approvers, or preparers)
  • Has one or more documents (PDF or DOCX format)
  • Has one or more deliverables generated upon completion

Attributes

id
uuid
The unique identifier of the envelope, in UUID format.
title
string
The title of the envelope, displayed to recipients in emails and the signing ceremony. Must be between 1 and 500 characters.For an internal label that is not shown to recipients, use the label property instead.
label
string
A custom label for internal identification. Labels are not shown to recipients. Unlike title, which recipients see, the label is for your team’s use only. It can be updated at any time via the Update Envelope endpoint.Maximum 500 characters. Defaults to null.
message
string
A custom message included in the signing request emails sent to recipients. Use it to provide context about what is being signed.Supports up to 2,000 characters. Accepts a subset of Markdown:
  • **bold** for bold text
  • *italic* for italic text
  • \n\n for paragraph breaks
Defaults to null.
status
enum
The current status of the envelope in its lifecycle.
  • processing — The envelope is being prepared. Documents are validated and recipients are notified.
  • in_progress — The envelope has been sent to recipients and is waiting for all participants to complete.
  • completed — All recipients have completed their part. A deliverable has been generated.
  • failed — An internal error occurred during processing. Failures are rare and trigger automatic alerts.
  • canceled — The signing process was intentionally stopped before completion.
The typical progression is processingin_progresscompleted.Learn more about the envelope lifecycle.
mode
enum
The mode of the envelope, which determines its legal status and billing.
  • live — Legally binding and billable. Created when using a live API key.
  • test — Not legally binding and free of charge. Created when using a test API key.
The mode is set automatically based on the API key used to create the envelope and cannot be changed afterward.
branding
object
Customizes the visual appearance of the signing ceremony and recipient emails. Branding does not affect internal notifications or signed documents.Learn more about branding.
routing
enum
Controls the order in which recipients receive and act on the envelope.
  • sequential — Recipients act one at a time, in the order listed. Each recipient must complete before the next is notified. This is the default.
  • parallel — All recipients are notified at the same time and can act in any order.
Learn more about recipient routing.
language
enum
The language used for the signing ceremony, recipient emails, and the audit log in deliverables.Supported values: en (English), es (Spanish), fr (French), it (Italian), pt (Portuguese), de (German), zh (Chinese Simplified), hu (Hungarian).If not specified, the account’s default language is used.Learn more about language.
timezone
string
The time zone applied to timestamps in the deliverable’s audit log. Must be a valid IANA Time Zone Database identifier (for example, America/New_York or Europe/London).If not specified, the account’s default time zone is used.Learn more about time zones.
timestamp_format
string
The date and time format used for timestamps in the deliverable’s audit log. Uses MomentJS format tokens (for example, MM/DD/YYYY HH:mm:ss).If not specified, the account’s default timestamp format is used.Learn more about timestamp formats.
sender
object
The sender of the envelope. Sender information appears in emails sent to recipients, identifying who initiated the signing request. If omitted, the account’s default sender name and email are used.
topics
array of strings
An array of up to 10 tags used to classify the envelope and filter webhook notifications. Each topic must start with a lowercase letter and contain only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores. Maximum 32 characters per topic.Learn more about topics.
metadata
object
A set of up to 10 custom key-value pairs for attaching internal reference data to the envelope. Use metadata to link envelopes to records in your own systems.Keys: up to 32 characters (letters, digits, and underscores). Values: up to 1,000 characters. Do not store sensitive information as metadata.Learn more about metadata.
documents
array of Documents
The documents included in the envelope. An envelope can contain between 1 and 10 documents. Each document must be a publicly accessible PDF or DOCX file. Documents can include interactive places such as signature fields, text inputs, and checkboxes that recipients interact with during the signing ceremony. DOCX documents also support dynamic content via template data.
recipients
array of Recipients
The recipients who participate in the envelope’s signing process. An envelope can have between 1 and 10 recipients.Three types are supported:
  • signer — Signs the documents.
  • preparer — Fills in fields before signers receive the documents.
  • approver — Reviews and approves the documents without signing.
attestation
enum
The regulatory attestation applied to the envelope. Use this to meet country-specific e-signature requirements.
  • none — No attestation. This is the default and covers most countries, including the US and EU member states.
  • mx_nom151 — Mexico NOM-151 compliance. Attaches a preservation certificate to the deliverable.
For more information, see Attestation.
deliverable
object
The that was automatically generated when the envelope was completed.
captures
object
Data captured from recipients during the signing ceremony. Each key corresponds to a capture_as identifier defined on a text input, checkbox, or dropdown place. Values are strings for text inputs, booleans for checkboxes, or null if not yet filled.Learn more about captures.
snapshot_url
string or null
The URL to a PDF snapshot of the envelope, showing documents and signatures collected so far.Returns null unless the envelope meets all of the following criteria:
  • It uses sequential routing.
  • It is currently in progress (not completed).
  • It was created within 1 year.
By default, this is a short-lived, pre-signed URL that requires no further authentication to download. The URL expires after 1 hour. If the link has expired, retrieve the envelope again to generate a new one.If you requested authenticated URLs (for example, to achieve HIPAA compliance), the URL must be accessed using the API key. Authenticated URLs do not expire.
created_at
timestamp
The time at which the envelope was created, in format.
completed_at
timestamp
The time at which all recipients completed the envelope, in format. Returns null until the envelope reaches completed status.
{
  "id": "55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530",
  "title": "Exploration Agreement",
  "label": "Exploration Agreement for Order Ref. 25005",
  "message": "Please review the agreement and provide your signature.",
  "status": "completed",
  "mode": "live",
  "routing": "sequential",
  "language": "en",
  "timezone": "America/New_York",
  "timestamp_format": "MM/DD/YYYY HH:mm:ss",
  "attestation": "none",
  "branding": {
    "logo": null,
    "accent_color": "#2463eb",
    "email": {
      "from": "noreply@signatureapi.com",
      "footer": null,
      "logo_position": "left"
    }
  },
  "sender": {
    "name": "Jennifer Lee",
    "email": "jennifer@example.com",
    "organization": "Acme Enterprises"
  },
  "topics": [
    "sales",
    "project_blue"
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "customer_ref": "x9550501",
    "account_annual_revenue": "$4,500,000"
  },
  "documents": [
    {
      "id": "doc_3jBYlxa9gv0fGLzFAnfwxe",
      "envelope_id": "55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530",
      "title": "Exploration Agreement",
      "page_count": 2,
      "url": "https://pub-e5051420e98a4fdfb3fd42a62fbf06fa.r2.dev/dummy.docx",
      "format": "docx",
      "data": {
        "date": "December 31st, 2025",
        "showAlert": true,
        "serviceProvider": {
          "name": "Jane Smith",
          "organization": "ACME Global, Inc."
        },
        "client": {
          "name": "Michael J. Miller",
          "organization": "Miller Industries"
        }
      },
      "places": [
        {
          "key": "provider_signs_here",
          "type": "signature",
          "recipient_key": "service_provider"
        },
        {
          "key": "client_signs_here",
          "type": "signature",
          "recipient_key": "client"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "recipients": [
    {
      "id": "re_26w2VVV5JVm4j459TY5BNM",
      "envelope_id": "55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530",
      "type": "signer",
      "key": "service_provider",
      "name": "Jane Smith",
      "email": "jane@example.com",
      "status": "completed",
      "ceremony": {
        "authentication": [
          {
            "type": "email_link",
            "subject_override": null,
            "message_override": null
          }
        ],
        "redirect_url": null,
        "redirect_delay": 3,
        "embeddable_in": [],
        "url_variant": "standard",
        "url": null
      },
      "delivery_type": "email",
      "ceremony_creation": "automatic",
      "signature_options": ["typed", "drawn"],
      "completed_at": "2025-12-31T14:00:00.000Z",
      "status_updated_at": "2025-12-31T14:00:00.000Z"
    },
    {
      "id": "re_38UVwrWdCqX5kqeKFJUTtf",
      "envelope_id": "55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530",
      "type": "signer",
      "key": "client",
      "name": "Michael J. Miller",
      "email": "michael@example.com",
      "status": "completed",
      "ceremony": {
        "authentication": [
          {
            "type": "email_link",
            "subject_override": null,
            "message_override": null
          }
        ],
        "redirect_url": null,
        "redirect_delay": 3,
        "embeddable_in": [],
        "url_variant": "standard",
        "url": null
      },
      "delivery_type": "email",
      "ceremony_creation": "automatic",
      "signature_options": ["typed", "drawn"],
      "completed_at": "2025-12-31T15:00:00.000Z",
      "status_updated_at": "2025-12-31T15:00:00.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "deliverable": {
    "id": "del_1T7If8GgrTOf7zBVPaJf2e",
    "name": null,
    "envelope_id": "55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530",
    "type": "standard",
    "status": "generated",
    "url": "https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/signatureapi-vault-dev/envelopes/55072f0e...",
    "language": "en",
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "timestamp_format": "MM/DD/YYYY HH:mm:ss",
    "included_documents": null,
    "password": null,
    "created_at": "2025-12-31T12:00:00.000Z",
    "generated_at": "2025-12-31T15:00:05.000Z"
  },
  "captures": {},
  "snapshot_url": null,
  "created_at": "2025-12-31T12:00:00.000Z",
  "completed_at": "2025-12-31T15:00:00.000Z"
}