Error when uploading a document to Acrobat Sign

File errors generated when composing an agreement

Several error messages can trigger when you upload a document to Acrobat Sign. The most common are:

• Acrobat Sign was unable to create your agreement because the document could not be thumbnailed
• Please wait... If this message is not eventually replaced by the proper content of the document, your PDF viewer may not be able to able to display this type of document
• Acrobat Sign was unable to process your document because we were unable to read one or more of them
• Acrobat Sign is unable to create the document because all signing fields could not be added or because of an invalid digital signature

Most of the above issues are commonly solved by reprinting the document with the Adobe PDF print driver (check here for instructions)

This process is often referred to as flattening the document. Flattening combines all content into a single layer, removing artifacts and ensuring that all elements Acrobat Sign needs are properly included in the file.

This method can be used with most file types, including images, Excel files, Word documents, .pages, and .txt files. It's safe to use with documents that contain text tags, but note that it will remove any interactive form fields (AcroForm fields) since those are flattened into the background.

If you're working with an AcroForm and need to preserve the fields:

• Try copying and pasting the fields from the original PDF into the newly printed version.
• If that doesn't work, manually recreate the fields on the new PDF.

Service and Server limitation errors

Some errors are the result of exceeding the system limits for your tier of service, violating foundational rules of what is allowed by the service, and communication errors between systems. Often, these errors can be resolved with adjustments to the document or by trying to compose the agreement again.

• Unsupported document type
  • Only the file formats defined in the system requirements are supported for upload to Adobe Sign
  • Consider if the file can be reprinted using the Adobe PDF print driver
    
• File does not conform to the PDF/A specification.
  • An uploaded PDF must meet the PDF/A-2b standard.
  • How to update a PDF to PDF/A.
• Empty documents cannot be uploaded
  • Adobe Sign does not support uploading empty files
    
• Documents larger than {XX}MB cannot be uploaded
  • All accounts have a maximum file size they can upload, and this error indicates when a file is over that limit
  • The document size must be reduced to have a file size under the maximum size for the tier of service
    
• Image larger than {0} pixels in width or height cannot be uploaded
  • Adobe Sign imposes limits on the size (in pixels) of images that can be uploaded. This includes both the width and height of the image
  • Reduce the size (in pixels) of the image
    
• An error occurred during file upload because a request timed out, please upload the file again. If the problem persists you will need to log out and log back into the website
  • This indicates that the file upload request returned status '408', which typically means that communication to the Adobe file server has been interrupted. This causes the server to close the connection
  • Users should attempt to compose the agreement again. There's an excellent chance the transaction will complete successfully on a second attempt
    
• Security Error
  • This could be any security error imposed by the browser during file upload
    • e.g., If using Internet Explorer 9 (an unsupported browser) to upload a file
  • This error type can be avoided by using the latest versions of the supported browsers  
• Server (IO) Error
  • This error indicates that something went wrong on the server side during file upload, and the file could not be uploaded (or created) on the server
  • Try to upload the file again. If the error persists, contact your account admin to report the error to Support.

Generic error messages

Some errors may not have a specific error code and fall into a general "catch-all" category.

• An error has occurred
• An error occurred while uploading
• Unhandled Error: {XXXX}
• Upload Failed
• Upload Error: {0}

If you encounter one of these:

• Report the issue to Support.
• Include the name of the agreement and the approximate time the error occurred.
• Attach the files you attempted to upload when the error happened.

Providing these details can help Support investigate and resolve the issue more quickly.