Manage email recipients for signed contracts
When you send a contract in GetAccept, the platform automatically notifies all signers and approvers after the document is fully signed. However, you may need to send the signed PDF copy to additional stakeholders who don't need to sign the contract themselves , such as finance team members, legal reviewers, or account managers. This article explains how to manage who receives the signed document copy and configure additional email recipients.
Who automatically receives the signed PDF
After all required signers have completed their signatures, GetAccept automatically sends the signed PDF and signing certificate to every person who participated in the signing workflow. This includes:
All signers , anyone with the Signer role who completed a signature
All approvers , anyone with the Approver role who reviewed and approved the contract
The sender , depending on your sender signing configuration, the person who sent the contract may also receive a copy
Each recipient receives an email notification with the signed PDF attached and a link to view the document.
Understanding the difference between signing recipients and email recipients
GetAccept distinguishes between two types of recipients:
Signing recipients are people who have a defined role in the signing workflow , Signer, Approver, or Viewer. These individuals receive a signing link and are part of the official document record. Their names, signatures, and timestamps appear in the signing certificate.
Email recipients are people who receive the signed PDF copy via email after signing is complete, but who do not have a signing role. They never see the signing flow and are not part of the contract's official record. Email-only recipients are useful for stakeholders who need visibility into the signed agreement but don't participate in the approval process.
You can add email recipients in the document settings before sending , they are separate from your signing recipient list.
Add additional email recipients before sending
To send the signed contract copy to people beyond the signers and approvers, configure additional email recipients in your document settings.
Step 1: Open the document settings
While creating or editing a draft contract, click the Settings icon (gear symbol) in the top navigation or right sidebar.
Step 2: Locate the email recipients field
Navigate to Advanced settings. Scroll to the section labeled "Send signed copy to" or "Additional recipients". This field allows you to specify email addresses that should receive the signed document copy after all signers complete their signatures.
Step 3: Enter email addresses
Type or paste the email addresses of people who should receive the signed PDF. You can add multiple emails by:
Separating them with commas (e.g., finance@company.com, legal@company.com)
Pressing Enter after each email to add them individually
These recipients will not receive the signing link , only the final signed PDF after the contract is fully executed.
Step 4: Save and send
After configuring the email recipients, proceed with sending the contract as normal. Once all signers complete their signatures, GetAccept will automatically email the signed PDF to both your signing recipients and your additional email recipients.
Note: Email recipients must be added before you send the contract. If you need to add new email recipients after the contract is already sent, you will need to create a new version of the document.
Modify recipient email addresses after sending
If a contract has already been sent and you need to change email recipient addresses, you cannot edit them in the active document. Instead, you must create a new version of the contract with the updated email addresses.
To create a new version:
Open the sent contract from your Documents list
Click the menu (three dots) and select "Create new version"
Update the email recipients in the Advanced settings
Review the contract and send to all recipients again
Creating a new version restarts the signing workflow for all parties, ensuring everyone signs the updated contract.
Why the recipient list is locked after signing
Once all signers have completed their signatures, the contract becomes legally binding and immutable , no changes to content, recipients, roles, or settings are permitted. This is a critical security and compliance feature. The signed contract and its audit trail must remain exactly as they were at the moment of execution.
If you need to add email recipients after a contract is fully signed, you cannot modify the original document. However, you can manually forward the signed PDF to additional stakeholders outside of GetAccept, or send a new unsigned version of the contract to gather fresh signatures if terms have changed.
Best practices for stakeholder management
Plan your email recipient list upfront. Before sending the contract, identify all stakeholders who need to receive the signed copy , finance, legal, compliance, account managers, or others. Adding them at send time ensures they receive the notification automatically.
Separate signers from viewers. If someone needs to see and approve the contract before signing, assign them the Approver role in the signing workflow. If they only need the final signed PDF, add them as an email-only recipient instead. This keeps your signing flow streamlined and clear.
Use consistent email addresses. Verify that all email addresses are correct before sending. Typos will result in delivery failures, and you'll need to create a new version to add or correct them.
Document your email recipient rationale. If your organization has compliance requirements, consider documenting why certain stakeholders are added as email recipients , for audit trails and knowledge transfer.
Pro-tip: If you frequently send contracts to the same set of additional recipients (e.g., your legal team always receives copies), create a template with those email addresses pre-configured in the Advanced settings. New contracts created from that template will automatically include them, saving time on every send.
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