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E-Sign
E-Sign lets you send consent forms, agreements, and other documents for signature as part of a case — and keeps the signed copy with that case forever. You'll find it on the E-Sign tab of any open case.
Send a document for signature
The E-Sign tab has two parts:
- Templates — the documents your workspace has ready to send.
- Documents — the ones you've already sent, with their progress.
To send one:
- Find the document you need in the Templates list. Underneath the title you'll see who the document is for, in order — "Parent · Child · Company", for example.
- Select Request signatures. A window opens with one row per named signer.
- Choose a person for each row. The list includes the case's person and their contacts who have an email address, with how each one is related shown beside the name — so matching "Parent" to the right contact is obvious. Someone with no email address doesn't appear: there's nowhere to send their copy.
- If the document also needs your organization's signature, pick who signs for the company. It starts on the template's usual signer; changing it here applies to this document only.
- Choose Send for signature to email everyone, or Sign in office to sign on screen right now.
The document then appears in the Documents list, where you can watch its status move along — from sent, to opened, to signed and complete.
Everyone at once, or one at a time
A template is set up either so everyone is notified at once, or so people sign in order — each person is emailed only when it's their turn. The window tells you which one this document uses before you send it.
Sign in the office
If the person is with you, you don't need email at all. Select Sign in office next to the document to sign right there on screen — for everyone, or just for your organization's part. This is perfect for finishing paperwork during a visit.
Signing links — send the link another way
Sometimes the email doesn't arrive, or a parent would simply rather get the link the way they already get everything else — a text, or whichever messaging app they actually answer. Open Signing links on any document that's still in progress to see a row for each signer.
Each row shows where that person is:
| What it says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Not sent | The invitation hasn't gone out yet. On a sign-in-order document, it's not their turn — the row tells you who signs first. |
| Awaiting signature | The email has gone out and hasn't been opened. |
| Opened | They opened the document but haven't finished signing. |
| Signed | Done, with the date. |
| Declined | They chose not to sign. |
Copy link puts that person's signing link on your clipboard. Paste it into a message, and they can sign from their phone without hunting through an inbox.
A link is the signature
Anyone holding a link can sign as that person, without logging in. Each link belongs to one signer — share it only with them, and only through a channel you'd trust with the signed document itself.
On a sign-in-order document, wait for someone's turn before you send them their link. A row that says Not sent tells you who has to sign first, and until they do, that link only opens a page saying it isn't ready yet.
If someone declines, the document is closed — not just their row. Every link stops working, so Copy link disappears from every row. Request signatures again to start a fresh document.
Templates and what each step needs
Your workspace sets up the document templates, and a template can be tied to specific workflows. A workflow step can also require certain documents — when it does, those show up on the case's Overview tab so you know what's still needed before moving on.
A template also carries a date format, which is how any "date signed" box is filled in when someone signs — 09/08/2026, say, rather than a date with a time on the end. Whoever builds the template picks it; it's not something you choose per document.
Creating templates needs admin access
Building the document templates themselves takes admin access, so if you need a new one, ask an admin on your team. A full guide to creating templates is coming to Workspace admin.
Setting up signing
Whether your organization adds its own signature, and which templates exist, is part of your workspace setup — see E-Sign settings.
About the signing tool
Signing in the portal is powered by Documenso, an open-source e-signature engine. We chose it because its code is public: anyone can read and check exactly how documents are sealed and signatures are recorded. The exact version we run is published at github.com/documenso/documenso/tree/v2.18.0.
The portal runs its own copy of Documenso on our own servers. Your documents are stored and sealed there — they are never handed to a third-party signing service. What does go out is email: the invitation to sign, reminders, and, once everyone has signed, a copy of the finished document to each person who signed it. If you'd like a signing service of your own, Documenso also offers a ready-made hosted version on their site.