Set signing order, add CC recipients and countersign

Choose whether signers sign one after another or at the same time, send copies to CC recipients, and sign last yourself.

Decide how your signers take their turns. With Signing order on, they sign one after another. With it off, everyone signs at the same time. Add CC recipients who only need the finished copy. Turn on Countersign to sign last yourself.

Plans: Free, Growth, Agency, Scale, TrialRole: Sender

Before you start

You set these options in the document editor, before you send.
Recipient roles:

Role	What they do
Signer	Fills in fields and signs
Reviewer	Can suggest edits before anyone signs
Viewer	Gets a read-only copy when it is complete
Approver	Approves or declines on the signing page
CC	Gets a copy when it is complete

Signing order applies to signers and approvers. Reviewers, viewers and CC recipients are not steps in the order.

Choose sequential or parallel signing

Open the document in the editor.

In the sidebar, open Settings. Switch Signing order on (sequential) or off (parallel).

With signing order on, use the up and down arrows next to each recipient in Recipients to set the order. The list order is the signing order.

	Signing order on	Signing order off
Who gets the email at send	Only the first signer (or approver)	All signers
When the next person gets it	When the signers and approvers before them finish	Not applicable
Order of signing	Signer 2 cannot open the document until signer 1 has completed	Any order, at the same time

Add a CC recipient

In Recipients, add the person's name and email.

Set the role to CC.

A CC recipient gets no signing request and has no fields. When the document is complete, they get an email with the completed copy. On the document page, their row shows CC. When the document is complete, it also shows "Receives a copy". You cannot remind a CC recipient or copy a signing link for them, because there is no request.

Countersign: sign last yourself

There are two ways. Use the one that matches your recipient list.

You are not on the recipient list

In the editor, open Settings.

Switch Countersign on. The note says "You will be added as the final signer after all recipients have signed."

Select send. In the send dialog, your row shows Countersigner and "signs last, after every recipient".

Countersign turns signing order on for this send.

You are already a signer on the list

In the send dialog, select I sign last (countersign). "Others sign first, in order. You sign after them."

This moves only you to the end and turns signing order on. Everyone else keeps their order. Clear the box to put you back where you were.

If Countersign is on in Settings, you sign last anyway. The box is on and locked, and the dialog says "Countersign is on, so you sign last. To change this, turn off Countersign in Settings."

Sign when it is your turn

Open the document. When it is your turn, the Recipients card says "Your turn to sign". Select Sign now.

Sign on the signing page, like any signer.

The document is also on Home under Needs your signature when it is your turn. Plutosign also emails you the signing link, like any signer.

What later signers see

A later signer opens the document.

They see what earlier signers already put on the document: the signature, initials and date, in their slots. These are read-only. They cannot change them. Each slot shows only the mark or date, under a caption with the field type and the earlier signer's first name. It never shows their email, IP address or audit data.

What happens next

Sequential: each signer gets the email when it is their turn. The document page shows who it is "Waiting on".
Parallel: all signers get the email at send.
When the last signer finishes, the document is Completed. Signers, viewers and CC recipients get the completed copy.
The certificate shows each signer's place, for example "Signer 2 of 3 (signed in order)". See Certificate of completion.

Limits

The editor settings are locked after you send, so you cannot change the order or Countersign then. Use Revise and resend (when nobody has signed) or Send corrected copy.
Remind works only for a recipient whose turn it is.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
A signer says "It is not your turn to sign yet."	Signing order is on, and someone earlier has not finished.	Remind the person whose turn it is.
Remind fails: "It is not this recipient's turn yet."	Same cause.	Wait, or remind the earlier signer.
Remind fails for a CC: "CC and viewer recipients receive the completed document…"	CC recipients have no request.	No action needed.
You do not see I sign last (countersign)	You are not a signer on the list, or you are the only signer.	Add another signer, or use the Countersign switch.
Send is blocked: "Countersign can't add you to a PDF, because each PDF field belongs to a listed signer…"	Countersign is on for a PDF.	Select Turn off Countersign. Then add yourself as a signer, place your signature field, and use I sign last (countersign).
Send fails: "Place a required signature or initials field for every signer before sending this PDF."	A PDF signer has no field.	Place a signature or initials field for each signer.
You do not see Sign now	It is not your turn yet, or a review or approval is open.	Wait for the earlier signers.