Signers receive and sign the document in the order that their e-mail addresses were entered into the To: field. Once the last signer completes the signing process, then all parties receive a Signed & Filed e-mail with the signed PDFs attached.

Parallel signing workflow

Click Complete in Any Order to start a parallel workflow.

All the recipients receive the document at the same time and can sign in any order. Once the last signer has completed the signing process, then all parties receive a Signed & Filed e-mail with the signed PDFs attached.

Hybrid workflow (Enterprise only)

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A “Hybrid” workflow is an instance of the sequential participation order where one or more of the steps includes two or more recipients gaining access to the document at the same time. All of the signers/approvers of the “parallel” step will need to complete their part before the sequential process moves to the next step.

For example, in the above image we have a three step signature cycle:

• Step 1 is fclarke@gmail.com. When the agreement is sent out for signature, only fclarke will be notified. Once fclarke signs the document, we proceed to the next step.
• Step 2 is the hybrid step. You can see that all three recipients are given the same number (2), and this means that Adobe Acrobat Sign will notify all of these recipients at the same time.  They can apply their signatures in any order, but all of them must complete their part before the signature cycle moves to the next step.
• Step 3 is another individual recipient, but this time they are defined as an Approver (the check icon vs the pen tip). Once the “Step 3” recipient applies their approval, the agreement is completed, it is fully executed, and all parties will be notified with a copy of the agreement in PDF format.

To create a hybrid group, enter the email addresses of each party as if they were individual recipients, and then click and drag the recipient field over another one in the hybrid group. You will see on screen the message that you are creating a parallel group. Manually changing the index numbers to the same value will also create the hybrid group.

Recipient Groups (Enterprise only)

Recipient Groups are useful when you need sign-off from a team or an organization, but not from a specific individual in that group. Any member in the group is authorized to sign or approve on behalf of the entire group. 

For example, in the above image you can see a three step signature cycle:

• Step 1 (JohnDoe) is a signer and will be notified that their signature is required as soon as the agreement is sent.  Once JohnDoe applies their signature, the agreement moves on to step 2
• Step 2 is an approver Recipient Group given the name “HR Group”. Four individuals have been entered into the group, and each has been given a different verification process (just as an example). Once any one of the identified recipients applies their approval, the agreement will progress to the third step
• Step 3 is an individual signer. Once this final signature is completed, the agreement is fully executed, and all parties will be notified and receive a copy of the agreement in PDF format.

To create a Recipient Group, click the Add Recipient Group link at the top-right of the recipient field. This creates the container where you will be asked to enter the group name, and the potential recipients

Signing order account settings

An account administrator can set the default signing order or remove this option for the sender.

Navigate to Account > Account Settings > Send Settings > Signing Order or Recipient Groups