Signature Requests
Send any PDF for signature to one or more people. Track who's signed in real time. Get back a certified, tamper-evident, locked PDF. Free to start, no card required.
Multi-party e-signatures, without leaving your workspace
A signature request is how you get a document signed by someone else - a client, a vendor, a new hire - without printing, scanning, or paying per-seat fees for a tool you'll use twice a month. With FlexFiles, you add signature, initial, date, and text fields anywhere on a document, assign each field to a specific signer, and choose sequential or parallel signing order depending on whether approvals need to happen in order or can come back whenever each person gets to it. Every signer gets a secure, single-use link by email - no FlexFiles account, download, or install required on their side. Once everyone has signed, FlexFiles stamps a certification page listing every signer, timestamp, and IP address, then locks the final PDF with a password only you and your signers know, so the document you keep for your own records is the exact one everyone signed. Standalone e-signature tools often charge per seat or per envelope even at low volume - DocuSign's cheapest paid plan, for example, starts around $15/month for just 5 signature requests. FlexFiles' signature requests are free to start instead, with limits on requests per month and signers per document that scale up on paid plans.
How signature requests work
Upload → Add signers → Place fields → Send → Signers sign → Certified & locked PDF
Use cases
- Get a contract signed by a client and a manager, in order, without printing or scanning.
- Send an NDA to a new vendor and see the moment they open, view, and sign it.
- Collect signatures from multiple stakeholders in parallel so nobody has to wait in line.
- Request a signed offer letter or agreement from someone who doesn't have - and shouldn't need - an account on your system.
- Keep a full audit trail - IP address, timestamp, and signing order - for every completed document.
- Send the same PDF to several signers at once instead of manually tracking replies in an email thread.
Related features
FlexFiles vs. paid e-signature subscriptions
A quick comparison for anyone deciding whether they need a paid subscription just to collect a signature.
| Typical paid tool | FlexFiles | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting cost | Often $15+/month per user, even for occasional use - DocuSign's cheapest tier is $15/mo for 5 envelopes. | Free to start, no card required. |
| Who pays | The sender is charged per seat, whether they send 1 document a month or 50. | Free tier scales with your actual usage before you need to pay anything. |
| Commitment | A subscription signup to send even a single document for signature. | No subscription or commitment required to send your first signature request. |
Signature Requests FAQs
Answers to common questions about signing order, signer accounts, plan limits, and what happens if someone declines.
Is e-signature legally binding?
Yes. Each signature is tied to a verified, single-use link, and FlexFiles records a full audit trail - IP address, timestamp, and signing order - that's stamped onto a certification page in the final PDF.
Do my signers need a FlexFiles account?
No. Signers receive a secure emailed link and can review and sign directly in their browser - no account, download, or install required.
What's the difference between sequential and parallel signing?
Sequential signing notifies each signer only after the person before them has signed, in order. Parallel signing notifies everyone at once, so signatures can come back in any order.
Is Signature Requests included on the free plan?
Yes, with limits on requests per month and signers per document. Paid plans raise those limits and add cryptographic PAdES signatures instead of a password lock.
Can I send a document to multiple signers at once?
Yes. Add as many signers as your plan allows, assign each one their own fields on the document, and choose parallel signing so every link goes out at the same time - useful when signatures don't need to happen in a specific order.
Is FlexFiles a realistic alternative to DocuSign or other paid e-signature tools?
For occasional use, yes - that's specifically what this feature is built for. DocuSign's cheapest paid tier runs about $15/month for 5 envelopes; FlexFiles' signature requests are free to start and live in the same workspace as the rest of your documents, so there's no separate tool or subscription just to collect a signature now and then.
What happens if a signer declines?
The request stops immediately, every other signer is notified, and the owner can see exactly who declined - and why - before resending.
What file types can I send for signature?
Signature requests work on PDF documents. If you're starting from a Word file, image, or another format, convert it to PDF first - FlexFiles' own converters handle that in the same workspace before you send it out.