diff --git a/apps/remix/app/components/general/envelope-editor/envelope-editor-recipient-form.tsx b/apps/remix/app/components/general/envelope-editor/envelope-editor-recipient-form.tsx
index 88a562630..ac56a9c3a 100644
--- a/apps/remix/app/components/general/envelope-editor/envelope-editor-recipient-form.tsx
+++ b/apps/remix/app/components/general/envelope-editor/envelope-editor-recipient-form.tsx
@@ -323,14 +323,17 @@ export const EnvelopeEditorRecipientForm = () => {
 
     const { data } = validatedFormValues;
 
-    // Weird edge case where the whole envelope is created via API
-    // with no signing order. If they come to this page it will show an error
-    // since they aren't equal and the recipient is no longer editable.
+    // Locked recipients hold persisted values the server refuses to rewrite,
+    // e.g. an envelope created via API with no signing order where a recipient
+    // has already signed. Restore their PERSISTED order so form normalization
+    // drift never submits a "changed" locked recipient the server rejects.
     const envelopeRecipients = data.signers.map((recipient) => {
       if (!canRecipientBeModified(recipient.id)) {
+        const persistedRecipient = recipients.find((envelopeRecipient) => envelopeRecipient.id === recipient.id);
+
         return {
           ...recipient,
-          signingOrder: recipient.signingOrder,
+          signingOrder: persistedRecipient?.signingOrder ?? undefined,
         };
       }
       return recipient;
@@ -356,7 +359,7 @@ export const EnvelopeEditorRecipientForm = () => {
           signer.email !== recipient.email ||
           signer.name !== recipient.name ||
           signer.role !== recipient.role ||
-          signer.signingOrder !== recipient.signingOrder ||
+          (signer.signingOrder ?? null) !== (recipient.signingOrder ?? null) ||
           !isDeepEqual(signerActionAuth, recipientActionAuth)
         );
       });
diff --git a/packages/lib/client-only/hooks/use-editor-recipients.ts b/packages/lib/client-only/hooks/use-editor-recipients.ts
index 3d0f6177a..fc1fd2532 100644
--- a/packages/lib/client-only/hooks/use-editor-recipients.ts
+++ b/packages/lib/client-only/hooks/use-editor-recipients.ts
@@ -3,14 +3,14 @@ import { ZRecipientActionAuthTypesSchema, ZRecipientAuthOptionsSchema } from '@d
 import type { TEditorEnvelope } from '@documenso/lib/types/envelope-editor';
 import { ZRecipientEmailSchema } from '@documenso/lib/types/recipient';
 import { zodResolver } from '@hookform/resolvers/zod';
-import { DocumentSigningOrder, RecipientRole } from '@prisma/client';
+import { DocumentSigningOrder, EnvelopeType, RecipientRole } from '@prisma/client';
 import { useId } from 'react';
 import type { UseFormReturn } from 'react-hook-form';
 import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';
 import { z } from 'zod';
 
 import { normalizeGroupedSigningOrders } from '../../utils/recipient-groups';
-import { isCcRecipient, sortRecipientsForSigningOrder } from '../../utils/recipients';
+import { canRecipientBeModified, isCcRecipient, sortRecipientsForSigningOrder } from '../../utils/recipients';
 
 const LocalRecipientSchema = z.object({
   formId: z.string().min(1),
@@ -154,6 +154,24 @@ export const useEditorRecipients = ({ envelope }: EditorRecipientsProps): UseEdi
 
     const sourceRecipients = sortRecipientsForSigningOrder(recipients || envelope.recipients);
 
+    // Locked recipients hold persisted values the server refuses to rewrite.
+    // Initialization must never assign or renumber their signing orders —
+    // doing so makes the very first autosave submit a "changed" locked
+    // recipient, which the server rejects on every subsequent save.
+    const isRecipientLocked = (recipientId: number) => {
+      if (envelope.type === EnvelopeType.TEMPLATE) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      const persistedRecipient = sourceRecipients.find((recipient) => recipient.id === recipientId);
+
+      if (!persistedRecipient) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      return !canRecipientBeModified(persistedRecipient, envelope.fields);
+    };
+
     // A recipient without a persisted order means "last" everywhere else — the
     // server sorts NULLS LAST. Continue numbering after the highest existing
     // order rather than guessing from array position: a guess can land on a
@@ -170,6 +188,10 @@ export const useEditorRecipients = ({ envelope }: EditorRecipientsProps): UseEdi
         signingOrderByRecipientId.set(recipient.id, undefined);
       } else if (typeof recipient.signingOrder === 'number') {
         signingOrderByRecipientId.set(recipient.id, recipient.signingOrder);
+      } else if (isRecipientLocked(recipient.id)) {
+        // A locked null order must round-trip as-is: a synthetic number would
+        // read as a change to a recipient the server refuses to modify.
+        signingOrderByRecipientId.set(recipient.id, undefined);
       } else {
         fallbackOrder += 1;
         signingOrderByRecipientId.set(recipient.id, fallbackOrder);
@@ -188,7 +210,7 @@ export const useEditorRecipients = ({ envelope }: EditorRecipientsProps): UseEdi
 
     const signers: TLocalRecipient[] =
       formRecipients.length > 0
-        ? normalizeGroupedSigningOrders(formRecipients)
+        ? normalizeGroupedSigningOrders(formRecipients, (formRecipient) => !isRecipientLocked(formRecipient.id))
         : [
             {
               formId: initialId,
diff --git a/packages/lib/server-only/recipient/set-document-recipients.ts b/packages/lib/server-only/recipient/set-document-recipients.ts
index 3227e3296..f4ea37ef8 100644
--- a/packages/lib/server-only/recipient/set-document-recipients.ts
+++ b/packages/lib/server-only/recipient/set-document-recipients.ts
@@ -348,7 +348,9 @@ const hasRecipientBeenChanged = (recipient: Recipient, newRecipientData: Recipie
     recipient.email !== newRecipientData.email ||
     recipient.name !== newRecipientData.name ||
     recipient.role !== newRecipientData.role ||
-    recipient.signingOrder !== newRecipientData.signingOrder ||
+    // Null and undefined both mean "no order": the request schema cannot
+    // carry null, so a persisted null arrives as undefined
+    (recipient.signingOrder ?? null) !== (newRecipientData.signingOrder ?? null) ||
     !isDeepEqual(authOptions.accessAuth, newRecipientAccessAuth) ||
     !isDeepEqual(authOptions.actionAuth, newRecipientActionAuth)
   );