---
title: Signing Reminders
description: Automatically email recipients who have not yet signed on a configurable schedule.
---

import { Callout } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/callout';
import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';
import { Tab, Tabs } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/tabs';

## Overview

Signing reminders automatically email recipients who have not completed their signing. You configure when the first reminder goes out and how often it repeats — Documenso handles the rest until the recipient signs or the document leaves a pending state.

This is useful when:

- You want recipients nudged without having to track them down manually
- A deadline is approaching and you want to escalate gradually
- You send a high volume of documents and cannot chase each one

Reminders are tracked **per recipient**, not per document. Each unsigned recipient is on their own schedule based on when they were emailed.

This is different from the **Resend** action covered in [Send Documents](/docs/users/documents/send), which is a one-off manual nudge. Reminders are scheduled and recurring.

## Default Behaviour

Every **newly created** organisation starts with reminders **enabled**:

- First reminder sent **5 days** after the recipient is emailed
- Repeats **every 2 days** until the recipient signs

You can change this default at the organisation or team level, or override it per document.

<Callout type="info">
  Organisations created **before this feature shipped** have reminders left blank (no default) so
  recipients of in-flight or future documents are not unexpectedly sent reminders. To enable
  reminders for an existing organisation, configure **Default Signing Reminders** under
  **Organisation Settings > Preferences > Document**.
</Callout>

## Settings Cascade

Reminder settings follow a three-level cascade: **Organisation → Team → Document**. Each level can override the one above it, or inherit from it.

<Tabs items={['Organisation', 'Team', 'Document']}>
<Tab value="Organisation">

Sets the default for all teams in the organisation. Options are **Enabled** (set when the first reminder fires and how often it repeats) or **No reminders**.

To configure, navigate to **Organisation Settings > Preferences > Document** and find **Default Signing Reminders**.

</Tab>
<Tab value="Team">

Overrides the organisation default for documents created within this team. Options are **Enabled**, **No reminders**, or **Inherit from organisation**.

New teams default to **Inherit from organisation**.

To configure, navigate to **Team Settings > Preferences > Document** and find **Default Signing Reminders**.

</Tab>
<Tab value="Document">

Overrides the team or organisation default for a single document. Options are **Enabled**, **No reminders**, or **Inherit from organisation**.

If you do not change reminders when editing a document, the team or organisation default applies.

</Tab>
</Tabs>

## Set Reminders for a Document

{/* prettier-ignore */}
<Steps>
<Step>

### Open the document settings

In the document editor, open the **Settings** dialog and go to the **Reminders** tab.

</Step>
<Step>

### Choose a mode

- **Enabled** — Documenso sends reminders on the schedule you configure below
- **No reminders** — no automatic reminders for this document
- **Inherit from organisation** — use the team or organisation default

</Step>
<Step>

### Configure the schedule

When **Enabled**, set:

- **Send first reminder after** — a number and unit (days, weeks, or months) measured from when the recipient is first emailed
- **Then repeat every** — either **Custom interval** (a number and unit) or **Don't repeat** (only one reminder is ever sent)

</Step>
<Step>

### Send the document

The first reminder is scheduled when the recipient receives the initial signing email. Subsequent reminders are scheduled from the time the previous reminder was sent.

</Step>
</Steps>

<Callout type="info">
  Editing reminder settings on a document that is already pending recalculates the next reminder for
  every unsigned recipient immediately.
</Callout>

## Set a Default Reminder Schedule

{/* prettier-ignore */}
<Steps>
<Step>

### Navigate to document preferences

Go to **Organisation Settings > Preferences > Document** (or **Team Settings > Preferences > Document** for team-level overrides).

</Step>
<Step>

### Configure the default

Find **Default Signing Reminders** and choose:

- **Enabled** — set the first-reminder delay and repeat interval
- **No reminders** — disable reminders by default
- **Inherit from organisation** (team level only) — use whatever the organisation has configured

</Step>
<Step>

### Save

Click **Save** to apply. New documents created after this change use the updated default. Documents already in flight are unaffected unless you edit their reminder settings directly.

</Step>
</Steps>

## What Happens When a Reminder Fires

When a recipient's next reminder time arrives:

1. Documenso sends the reminder email — same template as the original signing request, but the subject and preview are prefixed with **"Reminder:"**.
2. An audit log entry is created for the recipient (an `EMAIL_SENT` entry of type `REMINDER`).
3. The `document.reminder.sent` webhook fires. See [webhook events](/docs/developers/webhooks/events).
4. The next reminder is scheduled based on **Then repeat every**, or no further reminder is scheduled if you chose **Don't repeat**.

Reminders stop automatically when the recipient signs, declines, the recipient's signing deadline passes, or the document leaves the pending state (completed, rejected, or deleted).

## When Reminders Are Skipped

A configured reminder will not be sent in the following cases:

- The recipient is a **CC** — CCs are notified once and never reminded
- The recipient's **signing deadline has passed** — see [Recipient Expiration](/docs/users/documents/advanced/recipient-expiration). Resending the document refreshes the deadline and resumes reminders.
- The document uses **manual link distribution** — Documenso never emails recipients for these documents
- The envelope's email settings have **signing request emails disabled**
- The recipient has not yet been emailed (for example, an unreached step in a sequential workflow)

<Callout type="info">
  Reminders stop automatically **30 days after the recipient was first emailed**, regardless of the
  repeat interval. This hard cap prevents runaway reminder chains for recipients who never sign and
  have no expiration set. If you need a different stop condition, set a shorter repeat interval,
  use **Don't repeat**, or configure [recipient expiration](/docs/users/documents/advanced/recipient-expiration).
</Callout>

<Callout type="info">
  Reminders are dispatched by a background sweep that runs every 15 minutes, so the actual send time
  may be up to ~15 minutes after the scheduled time.
</Callout>

## Reminder Options Reference

| Setting                     | Options                                  | Notes                                                                |
| --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Mode**                    | Enabled / No reminders / Inherit         | Inherit is only available at the team and document levels            |
| **Send first reminder after** | 1+ days, weeks, or months              | Measured from when the recipient receives the initial signing email. Reminders past 30 days from that moment are skipped. |
| **Then repeat every**       | Custom interval (1+ days/weeks/months) or Don't repeat | Custom interval keeps reminding until the recipient signs or the 30-day cap is reached |

The organisation default out of the box is **first reminder after 5 days, repeating every 2 days**, which falls well inside the 30-day cap.

---

## See Also

- [Send Documents](/docs/users/documents/send) - Send documents and trigger a one-off resend
- [Recipient Expiration](/docs/users/documents/advanced/recipient-expiration) - Set a hard signing deadline
- [Document Preferences](/docs/users/organisations/preferences/document) - Configure default document settings
- [Webhook Events](/docs/developers/webhooks/events) - Subscribe to `document.reminder.sent`