What is an observer?

An observer in a document set is someone who is notified when signature requests are sent to the party they observe, and when the document set is finalized. The former type of notification will contain drafts of the documents being signed, while the latter will contain copies of the finalized documents. Adding people as observers is a helpful way to make sure that they will automatically receive copies of the documents, even if they aren't signing them.

Observers are often paralegals or secretaries at a law firm representing the company, or administrative or legal personnel at the company. Although observers receive notifications, being an observer alone doesn't give someone the ability to make changes to a document set.

When a party is sent a signature request email, a separate email notification is sent to all observers for that party with the draft documents. When the document set is finalized, our software emails all parties, as well as observers, copies of the final signed documents.

For instructions on how to add an observer to your document set, see our How do I add an observer to a document set? article.


If you want to have someone automatically added as an observer to all future document sets for a team, you can add them as a team collaborator and select that option in their settings. For instructions on how to add a collaborator, see our How do I add a collaborator? article.


Still need help? Contact Us Contact Us