Recipient

The recipient object represents a person who participates in an envelope as a signer, approver, or preparer

A recipient is a person who receives and acts on an envelope. Every envelope must have at least one recipient.

Recipients have three types, each with a different role:

Type	Description
Signer	Reviews documents and adds a signature or initials. Every envelope must have at least one signer.
Approver	Reviews and approves documents without signing. Approver actions are not recorded in the audit log.
Preparer	Fills in document fields before signers receive the envelope. Preparer actions are not recorded in the audit log.

Each recipient participates in the envelope through a ceremony, a guided session where they complete their assigned actions. A recipient’s status tracks their progress through the workflow. See the recipient lifecycle for details on each status and what triggers a transition.

A recipient belongs to an envelope.

Attributes

Show Signer

id · string

The unique identifier of the recipient. Recipient IDs use the re_ prefix.

envelope_id · string

The unique identifier of the envelope, in UUID format.

type · enum

The type of the recipient. Determines what actions the recipient can perform during the ceremony.

Type	Description
signer	Signs documents. Every envelope must have at least one signer.
approver	Reviews and approves documents without signing.
preparer	Fills in document fields on behalf of another party.

For signers, the type is signer.

key · string

A unique identifier you assign to each recipient in the envelope.

Use it to match recipients with the places they should interact with (such as signature fields) and to identify them in events and webhook notifications.

The key must start with a lowercase letter. It can contain lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores. Maximum 32 characters. It must be unique within the envelope.

name · string

The full name of the recipient. Appears in invitation emails and is pre-filled for typed signatures.

email · string

The email address of the recipient. Used to send invitation emails when delivery_type is email.

status · enum

The current status of the recipient in the signing workflow.

Status	Description
pending	The envelope has not been sent to the recipient yet. This is the initial status.
awaiting	The recipient is waiting for earlier recipients in the routing order to complete.
sent	The invitation has been sent to the recipient.
completed	The recipient has completed their required actions (for example, signed or approved).
rejected	The recipient declined to complete the envelope.
soft_bounced	The invitation email was temporarily undeliverable (for example, a full mailbox). You can resend the request.
hard_bounced	The invitation email was permanently undeliverable (for example, an invalid address). Use the Replace endpoint to assign a new recipient.
failed	An error occurred and the invitation could not be sent.
replaced	This recipient was replaced with a new one via the Replace endpoint.

ceremony · object

The current ceremony for the recipient.

Show Ceremony

authentication · array of authentication object

Show Email Link Authentication

With email link authentication, the recipient receives an email with a direct link to the ceremony. Clicking the link authenticates the recipient and opens the signing session.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For email link authentication, this value is email_link.

subject_override · string | null

The custom subject line used for this recipient’s invitation email. null if the envelope title is used.

message_override · string | null

The custom message body used for this recipient’s invitation email. null if the envelope message is used.

Show Email Code Authentication

With email code authentication, the recipient receives an email from SignatureAPI containing a 9-digit code. The recipient must enter this code to authenticate and access the ceremony.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For email code authentication, this value is email_code.

Show Custom Authentication

With custom authentication, your application authenticates the recipient. SignatureAPI provides a ceremony URL that you share or embed in your application to give the recipient access.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For custom authentication, this value is custom.

provider · string

The name of your company or application that authenticated the recipient. This value appears in the envelope audit log as the authentication provider.

data · object

Key-value pairs with metadata about the authentication event, such as timestamps, session IDs, and user identifiers. These values appear in the envelope audit log.

The values in data must be sufficient to verify how the recipient was authenticated. You must retain all records needed to prove the recipient’s authentication, such as session information. In cases such as legal proceedings, you may need to provide these records to confirm identity.

Review our Terms & Conditions for details.

redirect_url · string | null

An HTTPS URL to redirect the recipient to after the ceremony finishes.

Learn more in Redirect URL.

redirect_delay · integer | null

The delay in seconds before the ceremony redirects to redirect_url (standalone ceremonies) or emits completion events (embedded ceremonies).

Defaults to 3. Allowed range: 0 to 20.

Learn more in Redirect URL.

url_variant · enum

The format of the ceremony URL.

Available options:

• standard (default): Full-length URL. Works for most use cases.
• short: Shortened URL. Use this when sharing through space-constrained channels such as SMS or push notifications.

embeddable_in · array of strings

Origins allowed to embed this ceremony in an iframe.

These values set the frame-ancestors directive in the ceremony’s Content Security Policy (CSP) header. Sources typically take the form of a scheme and host (for example, https://app.example.com). Wildcards are supported (for example, https://*.example.com). For all available options, see the frame-ancestors documentation.

Defaults to an empty list ([]), which means embedding is not allowed. To allow embedding from all origins (not recommended for production), use ["*"].

Only the origin (scheme and host) is used. Paths are ignored.

url · string | null

The URL where the recipient can access the ceremony. You can share this link with the recipient directly or embed it in your application.

This property is null when:

• The ceremony uses email_link authentication. SignatureAPI delivers the URL by email in that case.
• The ceremony is not active (for example, it is completed, revoked, or declined).

The URL expires 30 days after creation, or when a new ceremony is created for the same recipient.

delivery_type · enum

Controls whether the completed deliverable is automatically emailed to this recipient.

Value	Description
email	The completed deliverable is delivered to this recipient by email. This is the default for signers.
none	The completed deliverable is not emailed. Your application is responsible for distributing the deliverable.

signature_options · array of enum

The signature methods available to the signer. The first item in the array is shown as the default.

Option	Description
typed	The signer types their name. It is pre-filled from the recipient’s name property.
drawn	The signer draws their signature using a mouse, stylus, or touchscreen.

If not specified, both typed and drawn are available, with typed shown first.

completed_at · timestamp

The time at which the recipient completed their required actions on the envelope (for example, signed or approved), in ISO 8601 format. Returns null if the recipient has not yet completed.

status_updated_at · timestamp

The time at which the recipient’s status last changed, in ISO 8601 format. Updates whenever the recipient transitions to a new status.

Show Deprecated Fields

ceremony_creation · enum · deprecated

How the ceremony is created for the recipient.

Available options are automatic and manual. The default is automatic.

This property is deprecated. Use the ceremony object on the recipient when creating an envelope to control ceremony creation. This property will continue to be supported for backwards compatibility.

Show Preparer

id · string

The unique identifier of the recipient. Recipient IDs use the re_ prefix.

envelope_id · string

The unique identifier of the envelope, in UUID format.

type · enum

The type of the recipient. Determines what actions the recipient can perform during the ceremony.

Type	Description
signer	Signs documents. Every envelope must have at least one signer.
approver	Reviews and approves documents without signing.
preparer	Fills in document fields on behalf of another party.

For preparers, the type is preparer.

key · string

A unique identifier you assign to each recipient in the envelope.

Use it to match recipients with the places they should interact with (such as signature fields) and to identify them in events and webhook notifications.

The key must start with a lowercase letter. It can contain lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores. Maximum 32 characters. It must be unique within the envelope.

name · string

The full name of the recipient. Appears in invitation emails and is pre-filled for typed signatures.

email · string

The email address of the recipient. Used to send invitation emails when delivery_type is email.

status · enum

The current status of the recipient in the signing workflow.

Status	Description
pending	The envelope has not been sent to the recipient yet. This is the initial status.
awaiting	The recipient is waiting for earlier recipients in the routing order to complete.
sent	The invitation has been sent to the recipient.
completed	The recipient has completed their required actions (for example, signed or approved).
rejected	The recipient declined to complete the envelope.
soft_bounced	The invitation email was temporarily undeliverable (for example, a full mailbox). You can resend the request.
hard_bounced	The invitation email was permanently undeliverable (for example, an invalid address). Use the Replace endpoint to assign a new recipient.
failed	An error occurred and the invitation could not be sent.
replaced	This recipient was replaced with a new one via the Replace endpoint.

ceremony · object

The current ceremony for the recipient.

Show Ceremony

authentication · array of authentication object

Show Email Link Authentication

With email link authentication, the recipient receives an email with a direct link to the ceremony. Clicking the link authenticates the recipient and opens the signing session.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For email link authentication, this value is email_link.

subject_override · string | null

The custom subject line used for this recipient’s invitation email. null if the envelope title is used.

message_override · string | null

The custom message body used for this recipient’s invitation email. null if the envelope message is used.

Show Email Code Authentication

With email code authentication, the recipient receives an email from SignatureAPI containing a 9-digit code. The recipient must enter this code to authenticate and access the ceremony.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For email code authentication, this value is email_code.

Show Custom Authentication

With custom authentication, your application authenticates the recipient. SignatureAPI provides a ceremony URL that you share or embed in your application to give the recipient access.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For custom authentication, this value is custom.

provider · string

The name of your company or application that authenticated the recipient. This value appears in the envelope audit log as the authentication provider.

data · object

Key-value pairs with metadata about the authentication event, such as timestamps, session IDs, and user identifiers. These values appear in the envelope audit log.

The values in data must be sufficient to verify how the recipient was authenticated. You must retain all records needed to prove the recipient’s authentication, such as session information. In cases such as legal proceedings, you may need to provide these records to confirm identity.

Review our Terms & Conditions for details.

redirect_url · string | null

An HTTPS URL to redirect the recipient to after the ceremony finishes.

Learn more in Redirect URL.

redirect_delay · integer | null

The delay in seconds before the ceremony redirects to redirect_url (standalone ceremonies) or emits completion events (embedded ceremonies).

Defaults to 3. Allowed range: 0 to 20.

Learn more in Redirect URL.

url_variant · enum

The format of the ceremony URL.

Available options:

• standard (default): Full-length URL. Works for most use cases.
• short: Shortened URL. Use this when sharing through space-constrained channels such as SMS or push notifications.

embeddable_in · array of strings

Origins allowed to embed this ceremony in an iframe.

These values set the frame-ancestors directive in the ceremony’s Content Security Policy (CSP) header. Sources typically take the form of a scheme and host (for example, https://app.example.com). Wildcards are supported (for example, https://*.example.com). For all available options, see the frame-ancestors documentation.

Defaults to an empty list ([]), which means embedding is not allowed. To allow embedding from all origins (not recommended for production), use ["*"].

Only the origin (scheme and host) is used. Paths are ignored.

url · string | null

The URL where the recipient can access the ceremony. You can share this link with the recipient directly or embed it in your application.

This property is null when:

• The ceremony uses email_link authentication. SignatureAPI delivers the URL by email in that case.
• The ceremony is not active (for example, it is completed, revoked, or declined).

The URL expires 30 days after creation, or when a new ceremony is created for the same recipient.

delivery_type · enum

Controls how the recipient receives the invitation to access the envelope. Also determines whether the completed deliverable is emailed to this recipient.

Value	Description
email	SignatureAPI sends an invitation email with the ceremony link. The completed deliverable is also delivered by email.
none	No emails are sent. Your application is responsible for distributing the ceremony URL and the completed deliverable. This is the default for approvers and preparers.

completed_at · timestamp

The time at which the recipient completed their required actions on the envelope (for example, signed or approved), in ISO 8601 format. Returns null if the recipient has not yet completed.

status_updated_at · timestamp

The time at which the recipient’s status last changed, in ISO 8601 format. Updates whenever the recipient transitions to a new status.

Show Deprecated Fields

ceremony_creation · enum · deprecated

How the ceremony is created for the recipient.

Available options are automatic and manual. The default is automatic.

This property is deprecated. Use the ceremony object on the recipient when creating an envelope to control ceremony creation. This property will continue to be supported for backwards compatibility.

Show Approver

id · string

The unique identifier of the recipient. Recipient IDs use the re_ prefix.

envelope_id · string

The unique identifier of the envelope, in UUID format.

type · enum

The type of the recipient. Determines what actions the recipient can perform during the ceremony.

Type	Description
signer	Signs documents. Every envelope must have at least one signer.
approver	Reviews and approves documents without signing.
preparer	Fills in document fields on behalf of another party.

For approvers, the type is approver.

key · string

A unique identifier you assign to each recipient in the envelope.

Use it to match recipients with the places they should interact with (such as signature fields) and to identify them in events and webhook notifications.

The key must start with a lowercase letter. It can contain lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores. Maximum 32 characters. It must be unique within the envelope.

name · string

The full name of the recipient. Appears in invitation emails and is pre-filled for typed signatures.

email · string

The email address of the recipient. Used to send invitation emails when delivery_type is email.

status · enum

The current status of the recipient in the signing workflow.

Status	Description
pending	The envelope has not been sent to the recipient yet. This is the initial status.
awaiting	The recipient is waiting for earlier recipients in the routing order to complete.
sent	The invitation has been sent to the recipient.
completed	The recipient has completed their required actions (for example, signed or approved).
rejected	The recipient declined to complete the envelope.
soft_bounced	The invitation email was temporarily undeliverable (for example, a full mailbox). You can resend the request.
hard_bounced	The invitation email was permanently undeliverable (for example, an invalid address). Use the Replace endpoint to assign a new recipient.
failed	An error occurred and the invitation could not be sent.
replaced	This recipient was replaced with a new one via the Replace endpoint.

ceremony · object

The current ceremony for the recipient.

Show Ceremony

authentication · array of authentication object

Show Email Link Authentication

With email link authentication, the recipient receives an email with a direct link to the ceremony. Clicking the link authenticates the recipient and opens the signing session.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For email link authentication, this value is email_link.

subject_override · string | null

The custom subject line used for this recipient’s invitation email. null if the envelope title is used.

message_override · string | null

The custom message body used for this recipient’s invitation email. null if the envelope message is used.

Show Email Code Authentication

With email code authentication, the recipient receives an email from SignatureAPI containing a 9-digit code. The recipient must enter this code to authenticate and access the ceremony.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For email code authentication, this value is email_code.

Show Custom Authentication

With custom authentication, your application authenticates the recipient. SignatureAPI provides a ceremony URL that you share or embed in your application to give the recipient access.

type · enum

The type of authentication. Available values: email_link, email_code, and custom.

For custom authentication, this value is custom.

provider · string

The name of your company or application that authenticated the recipient. This value appears in the envelope audit log as the authentication provider.

data · object

Key-value pairs with metadata about the authentication event, such as timestamps, session IDs, and user identifiers. These values appear in the envelope audit log.

The values in data must be sufficient to verify how the recipient was authenticated. You must retain all records needed to prove the recipient’s authentication, such as session information. In cases such as legal proceedings, you may need to provide these records to confirm identity.

Review our Terms & Conditions for details.

redirect_url · string | null

An HTTPS URL to redirect the recipient to after the ceremony finishes.

Learn more in Redirect URL.

redirect_delay · integer | null

The delay in seconds before the ceremony redirects to redirect_url (standalone ceremonies) or emits completion events (embedded ceremonies).

Defaults to 3. Allowed range: 0 to 20.

Learn more in Redirect URL.

url_variant · enum

The format of the ceremony URL.

Available options:

• standard (default): Full-length URL. Works for most use cases.
• short: Shortened URL. Use this when sharing through space-constrained channels such as SMS or push notifications.

embeddable_in · array of strings

Origins allowed to embed this ceremony in an iframe.

These values set the frame-ancestors directive in the ceremony’s Content Security Policy (CSP) header. Sources typically take the form of a scheme and host (for example, https://app.example.com). Wildcards are supported (for example, https://*.example.com). For all available options, see the frame-ancestors documentation.

Defaults to an empty list ([]), which means embedding is not allowed. To allow embedding from all origins (not recommended for production), use ["*"].

Only the origin (scheme and host) is used. Paths are ignored.

url · string | null

The URL where the recipient can access the ceremony. You can share this link with the recipient directly or embed it in your application.

This property is null when:

• The ceremony uses email_link authentication. SignatureAPI delivers the URL by email in that case.
• The ceremony is not active (for example, it is completed, revoked, or declined).

The URL expires 30 days after creation, or when a new ceremony is created for the same recipient.

delivery_type · enum

Controls how the recipient receives the invitation to access the envelope. Also determines whether the completed deliverable is emailed to this recipient.

Value	Description
email	SignatureAPI sends an invitation email with the ceremony link. The completed deliverable is also delivered by email.
none	No emails are sent. Your application is responsible for distributing the ceremony URL and the completed deliverable. This is the default for approvers and preparers.

completed_at · timestamp

The time at which the recipient completed their required actions on the envelope (for example, signed or approved), in ISO 8601 format. Returns null if the recipient has not yet completed.

status_updated_at · timestamp

The time at which the recipient’s status last changed, in ISO 8601 format. Updates whenever the recipient transitions to a new status.

Show Deprecated Fields

ceremony_creation · enum · deprecated

How the ceremony is created for the recipient.

Available options are automatic and manual. The default is automatic.

This property is deprecated. Use the ceremony object on the recipient when creating an envelope to control ceremony creation. This property will continue to be supported for backwards compatibility.

Signer

// HTTP Status 200

{
  "id": "re_26w2VVV5JVm4j459TY5BNM",
  "envelope_id": "52872f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00548",
  "type": "signer",
  "key": "client",
  "name": "Emily Johnson",
  "email": "[e-mail]",
  "status": "completed",
  "status_updated_at": "2025-12-31T15:00:00.000Z",
  "completed_at": "2025-12-31T15:00:00.000Z",
  "delivery_type": "email",
  "signature_options": ["typed", "drawn"],
  "ceremony": {
    "authentication": [
      {
        "type": "email_link",
        "subject_override": null,
        "message_override": null
      }
    ],
    "redirect_url": null,
    "redirect_delay": 3,
    "embeddable_in": [],
    "url_variant": "standard",
    "url": null
  },
  "ceremony_creation": "automatic"
}

// HTTP Status 200

{
  "id": "re_7KpQVVV5JVm4j459TY5ABC",
  "envelope_id": "52872f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00548",
  "type": "approver",
  "key": "manager",
  "name": "Sarah Chen",
  "email": "[e-mail]",
  "status": "completed",
  "status_updated_at": "2025-12-31T14:30:00.000Z",
  "completed_at": "2025-12-31T14:30:00.000Z",
  "delivery_type": "none",
  "ceremony": {
    "authentication": [
      {
        "type": "email_link",
        "subject_override": null,
        "message_override": null
      }
    ],
    "redirect_url": null,
    "redirect_delay": 3,
    "embeddable_in": [],
    "url_variant": "standard",
    "url": null
  },
  "ceremony_creation": "automatic"
}

// HTTP Status 200

{
  "id": "re_9XtRVVV5JVm4j459TY5DEF",
  "envelope_id": "52872f0e-b919-4d69-89cd-e7e56af00548",
  "type": "preparer",
  "key": "sales_rep",
  "name": "Alex Smith",
  "email": "[e-mail]",
  "status": "completed",
  "status_updated_at": "2025-12-31T14:00:00.000Z",
  "completed_at": "2025-12-31T14:00:00.000Z",
  "delivery_type": "none",
  "ceremony": {
    "authentication": [
      {
        "type": "email_link",
        "subject_override": null,
        "message_override": null
      }
    ],
    "redirect_url": null,
    "redirect_delay": 3,
    "embeddable_in": [],
    "url_variant": "standard",
    "url": null
  },
  "ceremony_creation": "automatic"
}