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Participant roles and workflow types

Legalesign workflows are built from participant roles and the order in which those participants act.

The main idea is simple:

  • a template defines who can take part
  • each participant has a role
  • the workflow decides when each person acts

Core participant roles​

Signer​

A signer is a participant who signs the document. Most signing workflows are built around one or more signers.

Approver​

An approver is a participant who must review or approve the document but does not need a signature field. Approvers can be the only participant or part of a larger flow.

Witness​

A witness is linked to a signer and confirms that signing took place appropriately. Witnesses are used only where the workflow or legal context requires them.

Sender​

The sender prepares and dispatches the document. Sender fields allow the sender to fill values at send time without changing the underlying template.

Workflow types​

Single-recipient workflows​

These are the simplest workflows. One signer or approver receives the document and acts on it.

Multi-recipient workflows​

Multiple signers, approvers, or witnesses take part in the same document flow. The template defines who is involved and what each participant must do.

Sequential workflows​

Participants act one after another. The next participant cannot proceed until the prior participant has completed their part.

Simultaneous workflows​

Participants can act independently at the same time. This is useful when ordering is not important.

Special workflow controls​

Linked recipients​

Linked recipients are used when recipient behavior needs to stay coordinated within the same document flow.

Let previous participant decide​

This option is useful when a participant, often a signer or witness, is not known at the time of sending. A previous participant supplies the missing details during the workflow.

Reassign and reject behavior​

Depending on the signing experience settings, signers can be allowed to reassign a document or reject it instead of completing it.

When role design matters most​

Role design has the biggest impact when:

  • the document involves witnesses or approvers
  • ordering matters
  • participant details are not fully known in advance
  • you need different signing experiences for different recipients

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