D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin (seated) and Douglas Fairbanks at the signing of the contract establishing United Artists motion picture studio in 1919. Lawyers Albert Banzhaf (left) and Dennis F. O'Brien (right) stand in the background.
Photo by New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection staff photographer on Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Contracts & Signing

Part of Electronic signature software

Signature request workflows: Docusign vs Dropbox Sign

Compare e-signature request routing and corrections using one repeatable scenario, including documented Adobe, Docusign and Dropbox Sign limits.

Desk Document Systems · · 3 min read

Dropbox Sign provides a clear sequential hand-off and pending-signer replacement rules. Docusign supports parallel, sequential and mixed routing in one envelope, and its Correct tool can reorder recipients, fix email addresses and add or remove recipients after sending, as long as they have not completed their action.

Draw the route

Consider a request with a customer signer, an internal countersigner and a colleague who receives a copy without signing. Assign fields to the intended signer and decide whether signers should act in sequence or at the same time.

In Dropbox Sign, turn on Set signer order and drag signers into sequence. When Signer 1 signs, Signer 2 is emailed that it is their turn, and the sequence continues in order.

Docusign’s default is parallel signing: if Set signing order is disabled, all recipients receive the document in parallel. To use sequential signing, enable Set signing order and assign recipients their order.

In Docusign, sequential and parallel routing can be combined in the same envelope: for instance, one person signs first, then the document routes to several recipients simultaneously. Recipients with the same routing number sign in parallel.

With Set signing order enabled, each Docusign recipient automatically receives an email notification only after the previous signatory has completed their action. Dropbox Sign works the same way in sequence: the next signer is emailed when the previous one signs.

Keep the copy-only colleague out of the signing sequence and give them no fields, so a missing action from them cannot hold up completion.

Compare correction boundaries

On Dropbox Sign Essentials, Standard and Premium, a signer can be replaced on a pending request only if nobody has signed. Everyone can edit their own pending requests, and admins can edit pending requests sent by team members.

To replace a signer, enter the new signer’s name and email address. The previous signer is emailed that the document no longer needs their signature and loses access through their link; the new signer receives a signature request.

Changes appear in the document’s audit trail. You cannot change the authentication method or signer settings on a pending request; if someone has signed, Dropbox Sign recommends duplicating the request, making changes and deleting the original.

For an incorrect email address in Dropbox Sign, replace the pending signer while nobody has signed, entering the new signer’s name and email address.

In Docusign, select Correct from the actions menu for the envelope on the Manage tab. You can edit routing order numbers, add or remove recipients who haven't completed their action, fix email addresses, or disable Set signing order to switch all remaining recipients to parallel routing.

Docusign allows these signing-order changes after sending provided recipients haven't yet signed. If a recipient has not received the envelope, its Resend option pushes the email notification again.

The practical difference: Dropbox Sign locks a request once anyone signs, so later changes mean a duplicate request, while Docusign lets you correct recipients who have not yet acted on a live envelope.

Replacing a Pending Signer (Dropbox Sign)

  1. Step 1Ensure no signer has completed their action.
  2. Step 2Go to the document in Dropbox Sign and select 'Replace signer'.
  3. Step 3Enter the new signer’s name and email address.
  4. Step 4The original signer is notified they no longer need to sign and loses access.
  5. Step 5The new signer receives the signature request via email.

Correcting a Sent Envelope (Docusign)

  1. Access the envelopeGo to the Manage tab in Docusign and select the envelope.
  2. Use the Correct toolSelect 'Correct' from the actions menu to edit recipient details.
  3. Make changesUpdate routing order, fix email addresses, add or remove recipients who haven’t signed.
  4. Resend if neededIf a recipient hasn’t received the envelope, use the Resend option to re-send the notification.
  5. Confirm changesChanges are logged in the audit trail for compliance.

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