How to Forward a Signing Task in eSign.AI

How to forward a signing task in eSign.AI

A signing task does not always land with the right person. The envelope is addressed to one recipient, but the agreement has to be signed by a colleague, a manager or a legally authorised representative. Forwarding lets the recipient hand the signing task to that person instead of asking the sender to cancel and re-send the envelope.

Forwarding is controlled by the sender. The envelope originator enables Allow signers to forward signing tasks in the envelope advanced settings before sending. If the switch stays off, the recipient cannot forward the task.

What this demo shows

The walkthrough runs 4 minutes 12 seconds and follows one envelope through the full forwarding cycle, from the sender enabling the option to the forwarded signer completing the signature.

How forwarding works, step by step

1. The sender creates the envelope, adds the recipient, and opens Advanced Settings.
2. The sender turns on Allow signers to forward signing tasks, then sends the envelope.
3. The recipient opens the signing link from the notification email and views the agreement.
4. The recipient selects Transfer in the signing page toolbar and names the person who will sign.
5. The signing task moves to the new signer, who receives the notification and signs in their own session.
6. The activity log records the original recipient, the transfer, and the signer who completed the envelope.

What the audit trail keeps after a transfer

A forwarded envelope is not a gap in the record. The activity log on the envelope details panel keeps the full chain, so you can show who the envelope was sent to, who it was transferred to, when the transfer happened, and who finally signed. The completed document therefore still answers the two questions an audit asks: who signed, and how that person came to hold the signing task.

• The initiator and the original recipient, with the initiation time
• The transfer event, naming the person it was transferred to and the transfer time
• The signature event of the final signer, with the signing timestamp

When forwarding is the right control

Forwarding fits delegated signing: an assistant receives the envelope on behalf of an executive, a local entity receives it on behalf of the group, or a contract addressed to a role is signed by whoever currently holds that role. In each case the organisation wants the signature from the authorised person, and wants the hand-over visible in the record rather than handled off-platform.

Where the sender must keep the signing task fixed to the named recipient, leave the switch off. The recipient then signs personally, and the envelope cannot be passed on.

Related configuration

Forwarding sits alongside the other recipient-level controls available when an envelope is created. Set the signing order and the filler or signatory roles in Configure Filler and Signatory, and review the recipient and authentication options in Receive Notification and Sign. To send the same envelope to many recipients who each forward to their own signer, use Batch Send Envelopes.