What is a document signing order, and how do I set it up?

A woman sitting at a table holds a pencil while looking at a laptop to set up a document signing order.

Find out what signing order means when it comes to collecting signatures on a document, and learn how to turn it on or off in your digital workflow.

It’s easier than ever to request digital signatures with just a few clicks. When you’re about to hit send though, you might wonder about signing order — an option available on many e-signature platforms. Let’s explore what this option means, when you might use it, and how to set it up as part of your digital workflow.

Choose the signing order.

When you’re preparing to send a document for signatures, you might occasionally need the recipients to sign it in a particular order. This workflow is known as sequential signing. In this instance, the sender determines the order of signing, and each recipient receives the email notification to sign the document only once the previous person completes the signing process.

Why does the signing order for documents matter?

Sequential signing is necessary for certain business applications, such as contract signing. For example, when finalizing a lease contract, the tenant must sign the lease before the landlord signs. A savvy real estate agent may create a digital workflow that automatically follows this particular signing order every time.

When there are multiple levels of approval with different levels of authority needed for a project, the signing order for a document is important.

In other instances, the signing order may not matter. This type of flow is known as parallel signing, where the signature request arrives in the inbox of all recipients simultaneously, allowing them to sign in any order.

6 easy steps for setting up your signing order.

If digital document signing is an integral part of your business, it’s helpful to use document signing software. That way, you can easily create fillable templates, request signatures, and track the signing process. You can also establish a signing order for any document.

Here’s how to set up the signing order, for example, in Adobe Acrobat Pro:

Open your document in Acrobat Pro.
Select Tools > Request E-signatures.
In the E-Sign tool menu, select Request E-signatures.
Under Add Recipients, make sure to toggle on the Complete in Order option. This will create a sequential signing workflow.
Enter the recipient’s email addresses in the order you want them to sign. The number to the left of their name will correspond with their signing order.
If you need to sign the document after the recipients, click Add Yourself to add your email address, and move to the desired order.

The document signing order is now complete. From here, you can set additional options, such as reminders or password protection, or finalize the document for sending.

Once all parties have signed, each recipient will receive a confirmation email with an attachment of the signed document.

Benefits of using tools with a signing order for businesses.

Using a signing order comes with numerous benefits for everyone involved in the process.

The following are some of the benefits of using a signing order:

Simplify the workflow. Implementing a signing order takes the stress off you and your team to figure out who needs to sign the document next. Utilizing a signing order helps ensure your document goes through the approval process in the correct order.
Prevent bottlenecks. Gathering signatures from multiple people in a timely manner can be challenging. However, when you create a signing order for your documents, you can collaborate from anywhere and send automated notifications to remind signees to follow through and pass the document along.
Reduce fraud risks. E-signatures are difficult to forge thanks to data tracking, which provides a full history of the signing process. Additionally, encryption features help ensure that only authorized signers are allowed to sign your document.
Track status updates. Using a signing order gives you full visibility into the whole signing process. Real-time document tracking helps you to take action when necessary. E-signature software also integrates with other systems, such as project management or customer relationship management solutions, reducing errors and maintaining efficiency.

After delving into the advantages of using a document signing order for businesses, it’s evident that one significant benefit is the added layer of security when you choose to secure digital documents. Your critical data remains shielded from unauthorized access or alterations.

Why and how to turn off a signing order.

If you are sending a document where it doesn’t matter what order the recipients sign in, you may want to turn off the signing order. Otherwise, you may have recipients waiting unnecessarily for others to sign. To do this, simply change the toggle in the Request E-signatures box to Complete in Any Order. This will switch the signing sequence to parallel signing.

Take a moment to learn more about how to make your document signing easy and smooth. Discover everything that’s possible with Acrobat today.