Add or select the field that the sender should complete.
Last updated on
Aug 31, 2026
Alert
This article contains prerelease information. Release dates, features, and other information are subject to change without notice.
Let the sender enter agreement-specific information after sending and before the agreement reaches the first recipient.
In Adobe Acrobat Sign, Prefill is a recipient role assigned to the sender. When an agreement contains Prefill fields, the sender completes those fields immediately after selecting Send. The agreement doesn't advance to the first recipient until Prefill is complete.
When to use Prefill
Use Prefill when the sender needs to provide information that isn't known until the agreement is created but should already be part of the document when recipients receive it.
Prefill can be especially useful with reusable templates. The template can keep its normal recipient assignments while allowing the sender to provide transaction-specific information each time the template is used.
Any field that supports recipient assignment can be assigned to Prefill.
Assign fields to Prefill
Configure Prefill fields while authoring the agreement or library template.
Open the field's recipient assignment.
Choose Prefill.
Configure the field as needed.
Repeat for any other fields the sender should complete.
The sender becomes the prefiller automatically. You don't add the sender as another recipient.
See Add and configure form fields for general field placement and configuration.
Complete Prefill after sending
When the sender selects Send, Acrobat Sign checks for fields assigned to Prefill.
If Prefill fields exist, the agreement opens immediately for the sender to complete them before routing begins.
During the Prefill step:
- Only fields assigned to Prefill are available for input.
- The sender can enter field values but can't change recipients, field assignments, or field properties.
- The agreement remains at the Prefill stage until the sender completes it.
- Recipients don't participate in or interact with the Prefill step.
After Prefill is complete, the agreement proceeds to the first recipient in the routing order.
Understand what happens to Prefill values
After the sender completes Prefill, the entered values are flattened into the document.
Those values are no longer editable as form fields later in the agreement process. Recipients can see the completed information but can't change the Prefill values.
If the Prefill information must be changed after the Prefill stage is complete, the transaction must be canceled and restarted.
Prefill versus Prefilled text
Prefill and Prefilled text serve different purposes.
| Prefill | Prefilled text | |
|---|---|---|
| Who provides the value | Sender acting as the prefiller | Author while configuring the field |
| When the value is entered | After Send, before the first recipient | During authoring |
| Is it a recipient role? | Yes | No |
| What happens afterward | Value is flattened after Prefill is completed | Behavior depends on the field configuration |
Use Prefill when the sender needs to supply the value as part of the transaction workflow.
Use Prefilled text when the value can be entered while the field itself is being configured. See Form field properties for fields that support Prefilled text and related options such as Lock field value.
Things to know
- Prefill occurs before the first recipient in the agreement's routing order.
- The sender is always the prefiller.
- Prefill is an input step, not another authoring session. The sender can't change the agreement structure while completing it.
- Recipients aren't required to take any action related to Prefill.
- After Prefill is completed, its values become part of the document and can't be edited later in the transaction.
