Routing order: serial vs parallel.

An envelope can travel through its signers in two shapes. Pick wrong, and you’ve burned a day waiting for the wrong person to be ready first. Here’s how to think about it.

“If your contract has a witness, route it serially. The witness must, by definition, see the principal sign first.”

When to choose serial routing

Serial means each recipient signs in turn — the second signer doesn’t get the link until the first has sealed their part. This is the right shape for any document where the order of signing carries legal weight: witnessed agreements, hierarchical approvals, anything where a later signer’s role is to attest that an earlier signer signed.

You’ll know you need this if any of your signers’ titles are: witness, observer, attestor, notary, supervisor, or “co-signer pending review by”.

When to choose parallel routing

Parallel means everyone gets the link at the same time and can sign in any order. It’s faster — sometimes by days — and right for documents where each signer’s commitment is independent: NDAs going to a board, a partnership agreement where two parties are equally responsible, an internal expense memo.

A handy rule of thumb: if (no_signer_depends_on_another) { use_parallel }.

Mixed routing

VG·Sign also supports mixed routing — the first two signers sign in parallel, then the third signs after both. We call this a “quorum”. It’s useful for partnership agreements, board resolutions, and any contract that requires a final authorising signature once the parties have agreed.

What if I get it wrong?

You can change routing on a draft envelope at any time. Once sent, if you’ve gotten it wrong — say, you sent it parallel and a witness needs to attest — void the envelope and resend. We’ll preserve the recipient list and field placements. Voiding doesn’t cost an envelope from your plan.