Automatic document expiration allows for account and group level configuration. Expiration can be defined for a default time limit, with an optional setting to permit the sender to edit the default value.

Document expiration is measured in whole days (24-hour increments) starting when the agreement is created.  For example, if you configure an agreement for expiration in 3 days, the agreement expires exactly 72 hours after the agreement is sent (if not completed).

All recipients must complete their part of the signature process before the deadline. If the agreement is not completed before the deadline, the agreement is expired.

Add, modify, or delete a deadline

Enable/disable deadlines and reminders

All service levels have access to:

• Create cyclic reminders
  • During the send process
  • From the Manage page
• Create cyclic and ad hoc reminders from the Manage page

Individual and team service levels have no ability to automate or suppress the reminder feature.

Enterprise and business level options

Enterprise and business service levels can selectively expose the Reminder and Document Expiration options during the send process, or enable account/group-wide automation.

The two settings can be enabled/disabled by:

• Logging in to Adobe Acrobat Sign as an administrator
• Navigate to Account > Account Settings > Send Settings

Set a reminder during the Send process

Users that don’t have a default reminder configured for their group or account have the opportunity to define a reminder during the send process.

These reminders are always cyclic and apply to all recipients for the agreement. The sender only has to define the iteration that the reminder will trigger. There are six options:

• Every day
• Every week
• Every business day
• Every other day
• Every third day
• Every fifth day

When an agreement with a reminder is initially sent, a Please Sign email is delivered to the first recipient. This event starts the timer for the first reminder.

If the reminder is configured to send every third day (for example), the first reminder will trigger exactly 72 hours after the Please Sign email was delivered.

When the recipient completes their action with the agreement, the reminder clock for that recipient is terminated.

In the case where there are multiple recipients, the next recipient in the flow receives a Please Sign email immediately after the preceding recipient has completed their action. The reminder clock starts for the new recipient based on the delivery time of their Please Sign email (not the initial time stamp).

This process cycles through all the recipients of the agreement until the agreement is fully executed.

Set a reminder from the Manage page

Reminders created after the send process are configured on the Manage page:

The Manage page interface has a few more options that the Send page does not:

• You can select which recipients you want to include in the reminder. Design the reminder for one, some or all of your recipients.
• You can select a cyclic reminder process like on the Send page
  • If a recipient is added to a cyclic reminder after they have completed their action on the agreement, they will not receive reminders
• You can create a one-time (ad hoc) reminder that will send either "Right Now" or on a "Specific Date"
  • Ad hoc reminders can be configured for participants that have completed their action for the agreement
  • Ad hoc reminders can be configured after the agreement is closed-signed, or archived
• You must include a message. This is a required field when building a reminder on the Manage page

If other reminders are already configured for the agreement, the list of agreements is displayed instead of the Create Reminder interface.

You can create a new reminder by clicking the Add Reminder button

Review existing reminders

You can review all of the reminders that have been configured for an agreement by:

Cancel a reminder

To cancel a reminder:

Reminders and the REST API

The REST v6 API allows direct access to the reminder objects via four operations:

• POST /agreements/{agreementId}/reminders - Creates a reminder on the specified participants of an agreement identified by agreementId in the path
• GET /agreements/{agreementId}/reminders - Retrieves the reminders of an agreement, identified by agreementId in the path.
• GET /agreements/{agreementId}/reminders/{reminderId} - Retrieves a specific reminder associated with an agreement
• PUT /agreements/{agreementId}/reminders/{reminderId} - Updates an existing reminder for an agreement

The Activity list / Audit report

Reminders are not logged in the Activity list, nor the Audit Report for the agreement.

Both the History and Audit report are expected to log the landmark moments of the document signature process. This would include the first notification to a recipient (Please Sign), but not iterating requests to sign by the same recipient (reminders).

A history of reminders can be obtained by use of the API (available to enterprise level customers)

Create custom email templates

Enterprise customers have the option to build a wholly custom email template for their reminders. 

If custom email templates interest you, please refer to this guide.

Things to keep in mind

• The lifespan of cyclic reminders:
  • Daily reminders expire after ten days
  • All other cyclic reminders expire after 60 days
• Ad hoc reminders
  • Trigger only once
  • Can be configured to send the reminder to participants that have already completed their action on the agreement
  • Can be configured after the agreement is completed or archived
    • Reminders cannot be configured for agreements that have been canceled, declined, or expired
• Reminders trigger at the same time of day that the original “Please Sign” email was sent
  • In a multi-recipient workflow, when a recipient completes their action and triggers the next recipient in turn, the reminder clock is reset to that time
  • Replacing the current signer via the Manage page does not reset the reminder time
• Recipients have a right to cancel the reminder. There is no option to deny them this right
• Expiration dates can be modified on the Manage page after the agreement is sent
• Expiration dates can be configured to be ignored for internal recipients