When sending an envelope for signatures, you can control how it’s sent to recipients using the routing property in the Envelope. There are two options: Sequential and Parallel. By default, SignatureAPI uses parallel routing.

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Parallel Routing

With Parallel Routing, the envelope is sent to all recipients at the same time. Each recipient can sign the document whenever they want, and there is no required signing order.

Key Points:

• All recipients receive the envelope simultaneously.
• They can sign in any order.
• Best for cases where the signing order doesn’t matter.

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Sequential Routing

With Sequential Routing, the envelope is sent to one recipient at a time, in the order you specify in the envelope’s recipient array. The next recipient only receives the document after the previous one has signed.

Key Points:

• Recipients sign in the order set in the envelope’s recipient array.
• The envelope is sent to the next recipient only after the previous one signs.
• Ideal for workflows where the order of signatures matters.
• Next recipients can see the signatures and data introduced by the previous recipients.
• Recipients that depends on the completion of another one will have the status awaiting.

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Setting the Envelope’s Routing

By default, envelopes are sent in Parallel. If you need a specific signing order, set routing to Sequential.

// POST /v1/envelopes
{
  "title": "Dummy Agreement",
  "routing": "sequential",
  "documents": [
    //...
  ],
  "recipients": [
    //...
  ]
}