Glossary of Essential eSignature Terms
New to electronic signatures? The world of eSignatures comes with its own vocabulary, and knowing these terms will make every other article in this Help Center easier to follow. Here are the terms you'll encounter most often in Inkfree.
People and Roles
• Signer — a recipient who must sign the document. Signers receive an email with a secure link and complete their assigned fields.
• Approver — a recipient who reviews and approves the document before signing begins. If an approver rejects, the request stops there.
• CC recipient — someone who receives the final signed copy for their records. CC recipients take no action.
• Delegate — a person a signer hands their signing duty to, either for a single document or for a period of time (such as vacation coverage).
Documents and Requests
• Sign request — the envelope you send: one or more documents, plus recipients, message, and settings. One sign request can contain several files.
• Template — a reusable document with saved fields, roles, and signing order. Templates save you from rebuilding the same agreement every time.
• Field — an interactive element placed on the document: signature, initials, date, text, checkbox, or dropdown.
• Self Sign — signing your own document without sending it to anyone else.
Process and Security
• Signing order — the sequence (levels) in which recipients act. Recipients at the same level can sign in any order.
• Email OTP — a one-time passcode sent to the signer's email to verify their identity before they can view the document.
• Access code — a password you set and share with the signer through another channel; they must enter it to open the document.
• Audit trail — the tamper-proof activity log recorded for every request: deliveries, views, verifications, signatures, and declines, all timestamped.
• Certificate of completion — the evidence document generated when everyone has signed, packaging the audit trail with the completed agreement.
• Void — cancelling a sign request that's in progress. Voided requests can no longer be signed.
• Expiration — the deadline after which an unsigned request automatically closes and its links stop working.