The checks that run before a send:
- Every signer has at least one signature field in the document
- No merge fields are still unfilled
- There is at least one signer, with an email address
- The document has content, or, in upload mode, an uploaded PDF actually exists
- The document is still a draft and has not already been sent
If any check fails, nothing is sent and the message names the exact problem rather than failing quietly.
What the invitation email contains:
A short greeting using the signer's name, your sender name, the document title, your personal message if you wrote one, and a single Review and Sign button carrying that signer's private link. The email also notes that the link is personal to them, shows the signing deadline if one is set, and mentions that the sender has protected the document with an access code when that applies. The signed PDF is not attached at this stage. It is delivered on completion.
Sending the link yourself:
Not everyone reads email. On the document's status page, Copy Signing Link gives you that signer's personal URL to paste into WhatsApp, SMS or a chat window. It behaves exactly like the emailed link, and generating it is recorded in the audit trail as a link shared event.
Treat signing links like keys. Anyone holding a signer's link can sign as that person, which is normal across the e-signature industry and is exactly what access codes are for when a document is sensitive.
What happens the moment you send:
The document status changes to Out for signature and its content locks. In sequential mode the first signer is emailed. In parallel mode all signers are emailed at once. Each invitation is written into the audit trail with the recipient address and a timestamp.
Deliverability:
Invitations are ordinary WordPress emails. If clients report that nothing arrived, ask them to check spam and consider installing an SMTP plugin so mail leaves through a real mail service rather than your web host's default. Meanwhile, Copy Signing Link keeps the deal moving.