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DocuSign to Salesforce Mapping Ignores Cleared/Empty Field Values on Writeback

  • July 8, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 61 views
S
Conversation Starter
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We are experiencing an issue with the Salesforce and DocuSign integration related to updating email fields.

Current Setup:

  • Salesforce has two email fields:
    • Primary Email (Required)
    • Secondary Email (Optional)
  • Both fields are initially populated by Salesforce users.
  • We send a DocuSign form that includes both email fields.

Example:

Observed Behavior:

  1. If the signer updates the Secondary Email (for example, changes it to test333@gmail.com), the updated value is successfully synced back to Salesforce.
  2. However, if the signer clears the Secondary Email field and submits the form with it left blank, Salesforce still retains the old value (test222@gmail.com). The field is not updated to null or blank.
  3. The Primary Email field is mandatory, so this issue only affects the optional Secondary Email field.

Expected Behavior:
If the signer removes the Secondary Email value in DocuSign and completes the form, the corresponding Salesforce field should be updated to blank (null), removing the existing value.

Environment:

  • Salesforce
  • DocuSign eSignature for Salesforce
  • Using a DocuSign Developer Account

Could you please confirm whether this is expected behavior, a known limitation, or a bug? If this is expected, is there any configuration or mapping option that allows blank values from DocuSign to overwrite existing Salesforce values?

Thank you.

Best answer by somanikd22

Confirmed with DocuSign Support that it's expected behavior of the eSignature managed package: the writeback won't push a blank value to clear a Salesforce field, and if you point it at a format-validated field (Email/URL/Phone), a placeholder like NA gets rejected by field validation before you can sanitize it.

Our workaround:

  1. Add a plain Text staging field on the object and point the DocuSign writeback (and pre-fill) at that field instead of the Email field — Text accepts anything, so no format-validation error.
  2. Apex before trigger keeps the two fields in sync: on record entry/edit it mirrors the Email value into the staging field (so the form pre-fills the current value); on writeback the staging field wins — a placeholder (NA/N/A, case-insensitive) resolves to null, a valid value copies into the real Email field. Net result: the Email field only ever gets null or a valid address.
  3. On the DocuSign template, add field validation on that tab (regex allowing either a valid email or NA/N/A) plus a tooltip/help text telling the signer to enter NA when they want to blank out the value.

That combination gives signers a clear way to clear the field, keeps the data valid, and avoids the INVALID_EMAIL_ADDRESS error entirely.

4 replies

J
Community Moderator
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  • Jenny.MartinCommunity Moderator
  • Community Moderator
  • July 14, 2026

Hello ​@somanikd22,

Thanks for reaching out to the Docusign Community!

We have confirmed that DAL/DFS merge fields can override the mapped field's data in Salesforce with a blank value. However, several factors could prevent this from working as expected, such as Salesforce validation rules, field restrictions, or other configuration settings.

To better understand what’s happening, we’d need to review the specific configuration. We recommend reaching out to our Support so we can investigate and troubleshoot the issue further. 👉 Open a case in the Docusign Support Center

Let us know if you have any further questions.

 

Best Regards,

Jenny | Docusign Community Moderator

If this helped, like 👍and mark it as “Best Answer”

 

 

J
Community Moderator
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  • Jenny.MartinCommunity Moderator
  • Community Moderator
  • July 22, 2026

Hello ​@somanikd22,

I hope you’re doing well. I’m following up to see if the information shared above was helpful. If it added clarity or answered your question, marking it as Best Answer ✅ will highlight it for others in the community. If you still need more support, we’re here to help.

 

Best Regards,

Jenny | Docusign Community Moderator

T
Newcomer
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  • tomeNewcomer
  • Newcomer
  • July 23, 2026

This is an interesting Salesforce–DocuSign integration scenario. The behavior you are seeing is usually related to how the integration handles null vs. empty values. Many connectors treat a blank field differently from an explicit update, so the existing Salesforce value remains unchanged unless the integration sends a clear/null update instruction.

A few things I would verify:

Check the DocuSign Connect/API payload after the signer clears the Secondary Email field. Confirm whether the field is being sent as blank/null or completely omitted.
Review the Salesforce field mapping configuration to see if blank values are allowed to overwrite existing data.
Check for any Salesforce Flow, Apex trigger, validation rule, or automation that may prevent null updates.
If standard mapping does not support clearing values, a Salesforce automation layer can handle the envelope completion event and explicitly clear the field.

For similar Salesforce integration projects, it is important to design the data sync rules around edge cases like empty values, field updates, and conflict handling. Teams working on complex CRM integrations often review these scenarios during implementation. More insights on Salesforce integration best practices can be found here:
 Salesforce Integration Services

Hope this helps you narrow down whether this is a DocuSign connector limitation or a Salesforce-side update rule.

S
Conversation Starter
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  • somanikd22Conversation Starter
  • Author
  • Conversation Starter
  • Answer
  • July 27, 2026

Confirmed with DocuSign Support that it's expected behavior of the eSignature managed package: the writeback won't push a blank value to clear a Salesforce field, and if you point it at a format-validated field (Email/URL/Phone), a placeholder like NA gets rejected by field validation before you can sanitize it.

Our workaround:

  1. Add a plain Text staging field on the object and point the DocuSign writeback (and pre-fill) at that field instead of the Email field — Text accepts anything, so no format-validation error.
  2. Apex before trigger keeps the two fields in sync: on record entry/edit it mirrors the Email value into the staging field (so the form pre-fills the current value); on writeback the staging field wins — a placeholder (NA/N/A, case-insensitive) resolves to null, a valid value copies into the real Email field. Net result: the Email field only ever gets null or a valid address.
  3. On the DocuSign template, add field validation on that tab (regex allowing either a valid email or NA/N/A) plus a tooltip/help text telling the signer to enter NA when they want to blank out the value.

That combination gives signers a clear way to clear the field, keeps the data valid, and avoids the INVALID_EMAIL_ADDRESS error entirely.

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