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Is it possible to return incomplete documents as complete?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
June 12, 2025
7 replies
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My company uses DocuSign to complete legal applications related to foster parent licensing. Since there are so many required documents, we break them into “packets” of multiple documents to be completed in stages. A staff member wanted to know if it was possible for a recipient to return a packet even if not all of the forms are complete. I imagine this could be accomplished by making all the fields optional, though this would likely result in a large number of forms being completed erroneously. If anyone has any ideas on how to better structure our envelopes, I would be grateful. Thank you.

Best answer by Jenny.Martin

Hello @Margaret W,

You may consider utilizing the signing order feature to achieve this workflow.

In your case, you can set the first recipient to sign the first and second forms. If you want the envelope returned to you, you can set yourself as the second recipient. Then, later, add the same recipient again in the signing order to complete the third form.

Enable signing order when adding recipients
Add the same recipient twice in different signing order (e.g 1 and 3)
Assign the fields for the first and second form to the recipient in the first signing order
Assign the fields for the third form to the same recipient in the later signing.
The recipient will receive the envelope twice, completing their assigned section in sequence.

This approach keeps everything within a single envelope but allows the recipient to fill out parts of the document at different times.

Should you require any additional assistance, feel free to reach out. Thank you!

Regards,

Jenny | Docusign Community Moderator

If this helped, feel free to click "Best Answer"!

J

Jenny.Martin

Community Moderator

Hello @Margaret W,

Thank you for reaching out, and welcome to the Docusign Community! I appreciate you bringing your question to this Community.

Could you share a bit more about “we break them into 'packets’ of multiple documents to be completed in stages”?

When you say “ if it was possible for a recipient to return a packet even if not all of the forms are complete”, does this recipient need to sign the envelope and fill out the fields on the form?

That’ll help me (and the Community!) give you the best possible answer.

Looking forward to your reply!

Regards,

Jenny | Docusign Community Moderator

J

Jenny.Martin

Community Moderator

Hello @Margaret W,

I hope you are doing well. I want to confirm if you need further assistance. Feel free to let me know, and I will gladly help you address the situation as soon as possible.

Regards,

Jenny | Docusign Community Moderator

M

Margaret W

Author

New Voice

@Jenny.Martin As an example, we have a template that has three individual forms within it that are all sent together in one envelope. Would it be possible to have a recipient fill out the first and second form form within the envelope and return it, then complete the third form later? Or would all three forms have to finished together for the envelope to be completed?

It is my understanding that all required fields in an envelope have to be filled in before an envelope can be completed, but I said I would check.

J

Jenny.Martin

Answer

Community Moderator

Hello @Margaret W,

You may consider utilizing the signing order feature to achieve this workflow.

In your case, you can set the first recipient to sign the first and second forms. If you want the envelope returned to you, you can set yourself as the second recipient. Then, later, add the same recipient again in the signing order to complete the third form.

Enable signing order when adding recipients
Add the same recipient twice in different signing order (e.g 1 and 3)
Assign the fields for the first and second form to the recipient in the first signing order
Assign the fields for the third form to the same recipient in the later signing.
The recipient will receive the envelope twice, completing their assigned section in sequence.

This approach keeps everything within a single envelope but allows the recipient to fill out parts of the document at different times.

Should you require any additional assistance, feel free to reach out. Thank you!

Regards,

Jenny | Docusign Community Moderator

If this helped, feel free to click "Best Answer"!

J

Jenny.Martin

Community Moderator

Hello @Margaret W,

I hope you’re doing well. I'm following up on the above solution provided. Could you please confirm whether it addressed your question? If it did, can you please mark it as Best Answer ✅" to assist other users with similar inquiries and improve its visibility. Let us know if we can help with anything else. Wishing you a smooth rest of your day!

Regards,

Jenny| Docusign Community Moderator

M

Margaret W

Author

New Voice

It isn’t quite what we’re looking for. We are pivoting away from exploring this so you can consider this topic resolved.

J

Jenny.Martin

Community Moderator

Hello @Margaret W,

Thanks for your reply. If anything else comes up or you hit another roadblock, don’t hesitate to reach out here in the Community.

Wishing you a smooth rest of your day!

Regards,

Jenny | Docusign Community Moderator

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