diff --git a/packages/lib/server-only/pdf/helpers.test.ts b/packages/lib/server-only/pdf/helpers.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c0a6201f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/lib/server-only/pdf/helpers.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,235 @@
+import { FieldType } from '@prisma/client';
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+
+import { AppError, AppErrorCode } from '../../errors/app-error';
+import {
+  parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder,
+  parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder,
+  parsePlaceholderData,
+  parseRawFieldMetaFromPlaceholder,
+} from './helpers';
+
+const expectInvalidBody = (fn: () => unknown) => {
+  try {
+    fn();
+    expect.unreachable('Expected an AppError to be thrown');
+  } catch (error) {
+    expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(AppError);
+    expect((error as AppError).code).toBe(AppErrorCode.INVALID_BODY);
+  }
+};
+
+describe('parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder function', () => {
+  it('maps known field type strings to the FieldType enum', () => {
+    expect(parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder('signature')).toBe(FieldType.SIGNATURE);
+    expect(parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder('radio')).toBe(FieldType.RADIO);
+    expect(parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder('checkbox')).toBe(FieldType.CHECKBOX);
+    expect(parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder('dropdown')).toBe(FieldType.DROPDOWN);
+  });
+
+  it('is case-insensitive and trims surrounding whitespace', () => {
+    expect(parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder('  SiGnAtUrE  ')).toBe(FieldType.SIGNATURE);
+    expect(parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder('RADIO')).toBe(FieldType.RADIO);
+  });
+
+  it('throws INVALID_BODY for an unknown field type', () => {
+    expectInvalidBody(() => parseFieldTypeFromPlaceholder('FILE'));
+  });
+});
+
+describe('parsePlaceholderData function', () => {
+  it('splits top-level parts on commas and trims each token', () => {
+    expect(parsePlaceholderData('SIGNATURE, r1, required=true')).toEqual(['SIGNATURE', 'r1', 'required=true']);
+  });
+
+  it('does not split on escaped commas', () => {
+    expect(parsePlaceholderData('dropdown, r1, options=Legal\\, Compliance|Sales')).toEqual([
+      'dropdown',
+      'r1',
+      'options=Legal\\, Compliance|Sales',
+    ]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('parseRawFieldMetaFromPlaceholder function', () => {
+  it('splits each token into a key/value entry', () => {
+    expect(parseRawFieldMetaFromPlaceholder(['required=true', 'fontSize=12'])).toEqual({
+      required: 'true',
+      fontSize: '12',
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('only splits on the first unescaped equals sign', () => {
+    expect(parseRawFieldMetaFromPlaceholder(['label=a=b'])).toEqual({ label: 'a=b' });
+  });
+
+  it('drops tokens without a value and overwrites duplicate keys with the last', () => {
+    expect(parseRawFieldMetaFromPlaceholder(['required', 'fontSize=12', 'fontSize=14'])).toEqual({
+      fontSize: '14',
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder function', () => {
+  describe('non-field-meta cases', () => {
+    it('returns undefined for signature and free signature fields', () => {
+      expect(parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ required: 'true' }, FieldType.SIGNATURE)).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({}, FieldType.FREE_SIGNATURE)).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+
+    it('returns undefined when there is no metadata', () => {
+      expect(parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({}, FieldType.TEXT)).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('generic metadata', () => {
+    it('coerces required/readOnly to booleans (case-insensitive)', () => {
+      expect(parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ required: 'TRUE', readOnly: 'false' }, FieldType.TEXT)).toEqual({
+        type: 'text',
+        required: true,
+        readOnly: false,
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('coerces numeric properties to numbers', () => {
+      expect(parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ fontSize: '14' }, FieldType.TEXT)).toEqual({
+        type: 'text',
+        fontSize: 14,
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('drops numeric properties that are not a number', () => {
+      const parsed = parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ fontSize: 'abc' }, FieldType.TEXT);
+
+      expect(parsed).toEqual({ type: 'text' });
+      expect(parsed).not.toHaveProperty('fontSize');
+    });
+
+    it('keeps label/placeholder for non-selection fields', () => {
+      expect(parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ label: 'Company Name', placeholder: 'Acme' }, FieldType.TEXT)).toEqual({
+        type: 'text',
+        label: 'Company Name',
+        placeholder: 'Acme',
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('radio fields', () => {
+    it('builds stable values from options', () => {
+      expect(parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ options: 'Yes|No|Maybe' }, FieldType.RADIO)).toEqual({
+        type: 'radio',
+        values: [
+          { id: 1, checked: false, value: 'Yes' },
+          { id: 2, checked: false, value: 'No' },
+          { id: 3, checked: false, value: 'Maybe' },
+        ],
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('marks only the selected option as checked', () => {
+      const parsed = parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ options: 'Yes|No|Maybe', selected: 'No' }, FieldType.RADIO);
+
+      expect(parsed).toEqual({
+        type: 'radio',
+        values: [
+          { id: 1, checked: false, value: 'Yes' },
+          { id: 2, checked: true, value: 'No' },
+          { id: 3, checked: false, value: 'Maybe' },
+        ],
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('throws when a default value is provided without options', () => {
+      expectInvalidBody(() => parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ selected: 'No' }, FieldType.RADIO));
+    });
+
+    it('throws when the default value does not match an option', () => {
+      expectInvalidBody(() => parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ options: 'Yes|No', selected: 'Maybe' }, FieldType.RADIO));
+    });
+
+    it('throws when options is empty', () => {
+      expectInvalidBody(() => parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ options: '' }, FieldType.RADIO));
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('checkbox fields', () => {
+    it('builds values with checked state, validation rule alias and length', () => {
+      const parsed = parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder(
+        {
+          options: 'Email|SMS|Phone',
+          checked: 'Email|Phone',
+          validationRule: 'atLeast',
+          validationLength: '1',
+        },
+        FieldType.CHECKBOX,
+      );
+
+      expect(parsed).toEqual({
+        type: 'checkbox',
+        validationRule: 'Select at least',
+        validationLength: 1,
+        values: [
+          { id: 1, checked: true, value: 'Email' },
+          { id: 2, checked: false, value: 'SMS' },
+          { id: 3, checked: true, value: 'Phone' },
+        ],
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('throws for an unknown validation rule', () => {
+      expectInvalidBody(() =>
+        parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ options: 'A|B', validationRule: 'nope' }, FieldType.CHECKBOX),
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('throws when checked values are provided without options', () => {
+      expectInvalidBody(() => parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ checked: 'A' }, FieldType.CHECKBOX));
+    });
+
+    it('throws when a checked value does not match an option', () => {
+      expectInvalidBody(() => parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ options: 'A|B', checked: 'C' }, FieldType.CHECKBOX));
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('dropdown fields', () => {
+    it('builds values and sets a matching default value', () => {
+      expect(
+        parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder(
+          { options: 'United States|Canada|United Kingdom', defaultValue: 'Canada' },
+          FieldType.DROPDOWN,
+        ),
+      ).toEqual({
+        type: 'dropdown',
+        values: [{ value: 'United States' }, { value: 'Canada' }, { value: 'United Kingdom' }],
+        defaultValue: 'Canada',
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('throws when the default value does not match an option', () => {
+      expectInvalidBody(() => parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ options: 'A|B', defaultValue: 'C' }, FieldType.DROPDOWN));
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('selection field options parsing', () => {
+    it('trims option values and drops empty entries', () => {
+      expect(parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder({ options: ' A ||  B  ' }, FieldType.DROPDOWN)).toEqual({
+        type: 'dropdown',
+        values: [{ value: 'A' }, { value: 'B' }],
+      });
+    });
+
+    it('parses escaped delimiters through the full placeholder pipeline', () => {
+      const [, , ...fieldMetaData] = parsePlaceholderData(
+        'dropdown, r1, options=Sales\\|Ops|Legal\\, Compliance|A\\=B',
+      );
+
+      const rawFieldMeta = parseRawFieldMetaFromPlaceholder(fieldMetaData);
+      const parsed = parseFieldMetaFromPlaceholder(rawFieldMeta, FieldType.DROPDOWN);
+
+      expect(parsed).toEqual({
+        type: 'dropdown',
+        values: [{ value: 'Sales|Ops' }, { value: 'Legal, Compliance' }, { value: 'A=B' }],
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/lib/server-only/pdf/helpers.ts b/packages/lib/server-only/pdf/helpers.ts
index 3eed96d09..29a28cc54 100644
--- a/packages/lib/server-only/pdf/helpers.ts
+++ b/packages/lib/server-only/pdf/helpers.ts
@@ -113,6 +113,15 @@ const splitPlaceholderKeyValue = (value: string): [string, string] | null => {
   return [key.trim(), valueParts.join('=').trim()];
 };
 
+/*
+  Removes the escape backslashes left over after splitting, so \,=, \|, \\ become their literal characters.
+
+  E.g.
+  'Legal\, Compliance' -> 'Legal, Compliance'
+  'Card\|Check'        -> 'Card|Check'
+  'A\=B'               -> 'A=B'
+  'C\D'                -> 'C\D'
+*/
 const unescapePlaceholderValue = (value: string): string => {
   return value.replace(/\\([,=|\\])/g, '$1');
 };
@@ -147,6 +156,13 @@ export const parsePlaceholderData = (value: string): string[] => {
   return splitPlaceholderToken(value, ',').map((token) => token.trim());
 };
 
+/*
+  Transforms the field metadata string array into a record of key/value pairs.
+
+  E.g.
+  ['required=true', 'fontSize=12']
+    -> { required: 'true', fontSize: '12' }
+*/
 export const parseRawFieldMetaFromPlaceholder = (fieldMetaData: string[]): Record<string, string> => {
   const rawFieldMeta: Record<string, string> = {};