Create Envelope

Creates a new envelope in DocuSign with documents and recipients from scratch. Use this when you need to send documents that aren’t based on a template.

Overview

• Purpose: Create envelopes with custom documents uploaded at the time of creation.
• Use Cases: One-off documents, dynamically generated PDFs, documents that don’t fit a template pattern.
• API Method: POST /envelopes
• Note: For recurring document types, consider creating a template instead for better efficiency.

Required Input Fields

Email Subject: Subject line for the email sent to recipients.

Documents: Array of document objects containing the files to be signed.

Recipients: Object containing arrays of recipient types (signers, carbon copies, etc.).

Document Configuration

• Document ID: Unique identifier for the document within this envelope (e.g., ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’).
• Name: Display name for the document (e.g., ‘Contract.pdf’, ‘Agreement.docx’).
• Document Base64: Base64-encoded content of the document file.
• File Extension: File type extension (e.g., ‘pdf’, ‘docx’, ‘txt’).

Recipients Configuration

• Signers: Array of recipients who need to sign the document.
• Email: Signer’s email address.
• Name: Signer’s full name.
• Role Name: Role identifier for this signer (used for tab assignment).
• Tabs (Optional): Define where signature fields, text fields, and other elements appear on the document.

Optional Input Fields

Status: Set to ‘created’ to save as draft or ‘sent’ to send immediately. Default is ‘created’.

Carbon Copies: Additional recipients who receive a copy but don’t need to sign.

Routing Order: Control the order in which recipients receive and sign the document.

Output

• Envelope ID: Unique identifier for the created envelope.
• Status: Current status of the envelope.
• Email Subject: The email subject used.
• Created DateTime: When the envelope was created.
• Sent DateTime: When the envelope was sent (if applicable).
• Status Changed DateTime: Last status update timestamp.

Tips

[!TIP] For frequently used documents, create a template instead for better efficiency

[!TIP] Ensure documents are properly base64-encoded before sending

[!TIP] Use status ‘created’ to review the envelope before sending to recipients

[!TIP] Document IDs must be unique within the envelope

[!TIP] Consider file size limits when uploading large documents

[!TIP] Use ‘Send Envelope’ action to send draft envelopes later