Documentation

Sending a document (free)

Go to Prepare a document, upload a PDF, add signers in the order they should sign, and place fields for each one — signature, initials, text, date, checkbox, or dropdown. Free accounts support chains of up to 2 signers, no login required. You can also add up to 2 CC viewers, decline or cancel a pending document, and optionally text signing links to US mobile numbers (see below). Once you send it, the first signer gets an email with a link — no account needed on their end either. Each signer gets their turn automatically; the document (and all its data) is deleted 9 days after creation, or as soon as everyone's signed and the final copy has gone out by email — whichever comes first.

Have a Google Doc instead of a PDF? Paste its link on the same screen — free, no account needed — as long as it's shared as "Anyone with the link can view." Word documents aren't supported directly; export to PDF first (File → Download → PDF), then upload that.

Field types

• Signature / initials — drawn in the browser; email and date are stamped automatically.
• Text / date — single-line text or a date picker.
• Checkbox — required or optional.
• Dropdown — you define the options when placing the field; the chosen value is burned into the PDF.

Anchor tags in PDFs (paid)

Embed placement tags directly in your PDF before upload — useful for mail-merge or API-driven templates. On Prepare (paid), use Detect anchor tags to scan for tags like {{sig1}}, {{date_2}}, or {{dropdown_1:Yes|No|Maybe}}. The tag text is removed and replaced with the matching field for that signer number.

SMS signing links (free, US)

On Prepare, check Also text signing links and add each signer's US mobile number plus carrier (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, or US Cellular). Docracy sends the link through your carrier's email-to-SMS gateway using the same Resend email stack — no separate SMS vendor or per-text fee. Delivery isn't guaranteed (some carriers block automated gateway mail). US numbers only — signers outside the United States receive email invites instead; there is no international SMS option today.

Signer attachments (paid)

When preparing a document on a paid account, enable Require signers to upload attachment(s). Each signer must upload at least one PDF or image before they can complete signing. Preparers download uploads from the document status page or Dashboard → Documents → Files.

Free templates

103 ready-to-use templates — NDAs, offer letters, freelance agreements, leases, and more — with fields already placed. Pick one, fill in the bracketed details, and send it the same way as an uploaded PDF.

Paid account ($10/month)

A free account already keeps dashboard history for every send. Paid adds unlimited signers per document, reusable saved templates, parallel (all-at-once) signing, PIN-protected signing links, team accounts (shared workspace with teammates), white-label branding (your own logo on emails/signing pages), webhooks, MCP/Zapier, AI tools, Dropbox/OneDrive/Box/Google Drive auto-upload, plus the workflow features below. Full comparison on Pricing.

Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, and Google Drive (paid)

Connect cloud storage from Dashboard → Tools → Connectors. After a document finishes signing, Docracy uploads the final PDF automatically — no manual download step. Available on Paid and Enterprise.

• Dropbox
• OneDrive (Microsoft)
• Box
• Google Drive

Bulk send (paid)

From the Dashboard (Templates → Bulk send, or /bulk-send), pick a saved template and send it to many recipient groups at once — one document per row. Paste a list of names/emails or fill the form; each row becomes its own signing chain with the same field layout. Optionally set a custom expiry (see below). Paid only.

Custom document expiry (paid)

Free documents always expire after 9 days (or sooner once everyone has signed and the final copy is emailed). On a paid account you can choose retention of 1–90 days when preparing a document or bulk-sending from a template.

Verifying a completed document (free)

Every document Docracy completes is fingerprinted with a SHA-256 hash of its exact final bytes, and that fingerprint is kept on record indefinitely — even after the document itself is deleted at the end of its retention window. Anyone with the finished PDF, or the certificate's QR code, can run Verify a documentto confirm it matches an untouched, genuinely-completed document — free, with no account needed. Uploaded files are hashed in the browser and never sent to Docracy; only the resulting fingerprint is checked.

This confirms the document's content and completion date — not the signer's identity. Docracy's default signature is a Simple Electronic Signature (SES), which isn't identity-verified.

Blockchain timestamp (free, automatic)

Every completed document's hash is also submitted, automatically and for free, to the OpenTimestampsprotocol — a public network of calendar servers that batch everyone's hashes into a single Bitcoin transaction. There's nothing to turn on: it happens in the background the moment a document completes, at no cost to you.

This is a second, independent proof on top of Docracy's own verification record above — checkable with any standard OpenTimestamps tool, even if Docracy itself were ever unavailable. A freshly-submitted proof is "pending" for a few hours until the network's next batch confirms on-chain; the download link on the verify page works either way.

Embedded signing (paid)

Host the signing UI inside your own product via an iframe. From the Dashboard, open a pending document and click Embed to create a short-lived URL — or call POST /api/embed/sessions (cookie session or API key). Body includes docId, signerOrder, optional allowedOrigins, returnUrl, and ttlSeconds. The response gives an embedUrl to load at /embed/sign/…. Origins not on the allowlist are rejected.

Contacts & signer reassignment (paid)

Save contacts under Dashboard → Tools → Contacts. Their names and emails autocomplete on Prepare and when reassigning. For a pending document, reassign a signer to a new name/email from the Dashboard — the old link stops working and the new person gets the turn. You can also void a pending document from the Dashboard so the chain is cancelled.

Enterprise

Enterprise includes everything in Paid, plus invoice/annual billing, premium (SLA-backed) support, volume discounts & custom onboarding, and optional SSO or multi-workspace setup. Contact sales@docracy.io or upgrade from the Dashboard subscription tab.

AI tools (paid)

Four AI features, available once signed in on a paid account:

• Auto-detect fields — upload a PDF and it places signature/date fields for you, instead of placing them by hand.
• Plain-English explainer — a 3-bullet summary of what each party is agreeing to, no legal jargon.
• Risk & clause highlighter — flags one-sided terms (long non-competes, vague payment terms, etc.) before you sign.
• Generate with AI — describe an agreement in a sentence on the Prepare page (e.g. "a simple web design contract for a $2,500 fixed-price project") and get a ready-to-sign PDF back, with fields already placed.

Connect an AI assistant (MCP)

Docracy runs an MCP server so Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity, or an IDE agent like Cursor can check signing status and search your documents from a chat. Requires a paid account — copy your personal connector URL from Dashboard → Connector & API key. Full setup instructions: AI & MCP.

Zapier & webhooks

On a paid account, the same API key that powers the MCP connector also works with Zapier — trigger a Zap on Document Created, Signer Signed, or Document Completed; send a saved template out for signature; or bulk send a template to many recipient rows in one action.
Zapier Free compatibility note: set up a simple 2-step Zap (one trigger + one action) and avoid adding extra steps for best compatibility with the Free-tier limits. Webhooks let your own systems subscribe to those same three events directly, without Zapier in between.

• Best Free-plan pattern: one Docracy trigger + one destination action.
• Keep tasks low: use Docracy's own bulk-send action instead of fanning one Zap into many action steps.
• If you outgrow Free: prefer Docracy's direct API or your own webhook consumer rather than building around extra Zapier steps.

REST API reference

Everything Zapier does above is also a plain REST API you can call directly with the same API key (Dashboard → "MCP connector & API key") — useful if you want to integrate without Zapier in the middle.

Base URL: https://api.docracy.io. Authenticate with Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key> (or a ?token= query param). All responses are JSON.

This is the same surface Zapier itself calls — nothing here is Zapier-exclusive. Webhook deliveries are HMAC-signed the same way regardless of whether the subscription came from Zapier, the Dashboard, or this API directly.

Privacy & identity

Docracy doesn't verify who's actually signing — anyone holding a document's link can sign as the name on it. The audit trail proves what was signed and when, not who a signer really is. See Trust & security, Privacy, and Terms for the full picture.