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  • I have a docusigned document, I sent it outside the platform to collect signatures but the signers tell me that the document is locked and they can not sign with adobe or another system. How can I unlock or prevent the locking in the first place
I have a docusigned document, I sent it outside the platform to collect signatures but the signers tell me that the document is locked and they can not sign with adobe or another system. How can I unlock or prevent the locking in the first place

Hi,

Thank you for reaching out to the DocuSign Community.

By default when you download a signed envelope from DocuSign, a seal is placed on the document to prevent tampering, which would include any changes to the document. The intent of the platform seal is to provide customers not using Standard-Based Signatures/ QES with a certificate that enhances document security. Mainly for USA customers that don't use SBS.

Please keep in mind that if you have a QES signed document and then sign on top of that the digital signature will break. It is a best practice to have a document signed by all parties using the same provider. 

 For the signatures on the envelope to remain valid the QES signature for your recipient’s provider would have to be applied in the DocuSign envelope, using the QES solutions we offer.

If your completed document gets tampered the seal is broken and the digital signatures would not be valid anymore. I'm afraid that once a document is downloaded from our system, it's outside of our control. So, we use the platform seal as a way to let anybody who's looking at the exported documents see that a document has (or hasn't) been modified post-export.

You might find the following information useful:

Signing Around the World With Digital Signatures

How Digital Signatures Work | DocuSign 

Use Digital Certificate-Based Signatures for More Secure Agreements

DocuSign – Validate digitally signed documents 

Are Electronic Signatures Safe? 

DocuSign Legality and Security

If you believe that you need further assistance, or require the assistance of a live agent, you can always create a Support Case to have a Support agent work with you. 

https://support.docusign.com/s/contactSupport

If you are not able to open a  Customer Support case via the above link, you can scroll down to More Support Options and select "I can't reset my password or don't have an account." you will have the option of filling out the form or calling Support.

Please click "Select as Best" below if you found the answer to be a valid solution to your issue. Thank you for using DocuSign, we hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!

Best regards,

Rebeca | DocuSign Community Moderator

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