Understanding the Inkfree Agreement Lifecycle

Every sign request in Inkfree follows the same journey. Understanding these stages helps you read your dashboard at a glance and know exactly what happens next at every point. 

Stage 1: Draft 

You upload documents, add recipients, and place fields. Nothing has been sent — you can change anything freely. Drafts live in your Sign Request list until you send or delete them. 

Stage 2: Sent (and Approval, If Configured) 

The moment you click Send: 

•  If you added approvers, they're notified first. Signers hear nothing until the approver signs off — and if the approver rejects, the request stops with their reason logged. 

•  Without approvers, signing invitations go out immediately. 

Stage 3: In Progress 

Signers act in the order you set. The request detail page shows a live progress bar ("1 of 3 signed"), per-signer status, and the growing audit trail. 

 During this stage you can send reminders, fix a recipient's email, or void the request entirely. 

Stage 4: Completed 

When the last signature lands: 

1.  The status flips to Completed. 

2.  Inkfree cryptographically seals the documents. 

3.  The certificate of completion is generated. 

4.  Final copies are emailed to every signer, the sender, and all CC recipients — automatically. 

The Other Endings 

Not every request completes, and that's by design: 

•  Declined — a recipient declined to sign; their reason is recorded and other pending signers are placed on hold. 

•  Voided — you cancelled the request; links stop working immediately. 

•  Expired — the expiration date passed before everyone signed. 

All three endings preserve the audit trail, so you always have the full history.