Download Signed Documents

Retrieve signed deliverable PDFs after an envelope completes using webhooks and the deliverables API

After all recipients have signed, SignatureAPI generates a deliverable containing the signed document with an embedded audit log. This guide shows how to detect when a deliverable is ready, download the signed PDF, and save it to your own storage.

Overview

The flow works in three steps:

1. SignatureAPI sends a deliverable.generated webhook event when the signed document is ready. The event includes a pre-signed download URL.
2. Your server downloads the PDF from the URL in the event payload.
3. Your server saves the file to your storage.

Step 1: Set Up a Webhook

Register a webhook endpoint in the Dashboard and subscribe to the deliverable.generated event. See Set Up Webhooks for detailed instructions.

Step 2: Handle the Webhook Event

When the deliverable is generated, SignatureAPI sends an event with the download URL included directly in the payload:

{
  "id": "evt_9k3ppxyQwkr2J0dlhrzCI3",
  "type": "deliverable.generated",
  "timestamp": "2026-03-04T15:05:00.000Z",
  "data": {
    "object_id": "del_LXRDwyTeJDVrWXmjwxsAGPq",
    "object_type": "deliverable",
    "envelope_id": "55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530",
    "envelope_metadata": {
      "deal_id": "50055"
    },
    "deliverable_type": "standard",
    "deliverable_name": null,
    "included_documents": ["contract", "addendum"],
    "url": "https://vault.signatureapi.com/envelopes/55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530/deliverables/del_LXRDwyTeJDVrWXmjwxsAGPq/sealed.pdf?Signature=..."
  }
}

Key properties in data:

• url: A pre-signed download link for the signed PDF. This URL expires after 1 hour.
• deliverable_type: The type of deliverable (standard or simple).
• deliverable_name: The custom name, if one was set when the deliverable was created.
• included_documents: The document keys included in this deliverable.
• envelope_metadata: The metadata you attached when creating the envelope.

Step 3: Download and Save the PDF

Use the url from the event payload to download the PDF and save it to your storage. Here is a conceptual example:

app.post("/webhooks/signatureapi", async (req, res) => {
  const event = req.body;

  if (event.type === "deliverable.generated") {
    // Download the signed PDF directly from the event URL
    const pdfResponse = await fetch(event.data.url);
    const pdfBuffer = await pdfResponse.arrayBuffer();

    // Save to your storage (S3, Azure Blob, local filesystem, etc.)
    await storage.save(
      `signed-documents/${event.data.envelope_id}.pdf`,
      pdfBuffer
    );
  }

  res.status(200).send("OK");
});

The download URL in the event payload expires after 1 hour. If you need to download the file after the URL has expired, call the Retrieve Deliverable endpoint to get a fresh link.

Always verify the webhook signature before processing events in production.

Alternative: Retrieve the Deliverable via API

If you prefer to fetch deliverables without relying on the webhook URL, you can call the deliverables endpoint with the deliverable ID from the event:

// GET https://api.signatureapi.com/v1/deliverables/del_LXRDwyTeJDVrWXmjwxsAGPq
// X-API-Key: key_test_...

// HTTP Status Code 200

{
  "id": "del_LXRDwyTeJDVrWXmjwxsAGPq",
  "envelope_id": "55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530",
  "type": "standard",
  "status": "generated",
  "url": "https://vault.signatureapi.com/envelopes/55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530/deliverables/del_LXRDwyTeJDVrWXmjwxsAGPq...",
  //...
}

You can also list all deliverables for an envelope:

// GET https://api.signatureapi.com/v1/envelopes/55072f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00530/deliverables
// X-API-Key: key_test_...

Try It

Try this example in Postman using your test API key to create a free, non-binding test envelope. Test envelopes won’t send emails, but you can review them in your dashboard.

Keep Learning

• Learn about deliverable types, including standard and simple formats.
• Set up webhooks to automate your document processing pipeline.
• Store envelope data alongside the signed document for a complete record.
• Protect deliverables with a password.