---
title: Google Drive - Contracts, e-signatures, authorized documents in shared folder
description: Google Workspace, Google Drive now allows for signature collection for contracts and other agreements.
---

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# Google Drive - Contracts, e-signatures, authorized documents in shared folder

## Google Workspace, Google Drive now allows for signature collection for contracts and other agreements.

### Navigate to your Google Workspace

![Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 1.20.19 PM](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.20.19%20PM.png?width=670&height=341&name=Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.20.19%20PM.png)

 

![Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 1.14.59 PM](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.14.59%20PM.png?width=670&height=536&name=Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.14.59%20PM.png)

 

![Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 1.15.08 PM](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.15.08%20PM.png?width=591&height=632&name=Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.15.08%20PM.png)

 

![Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 1.15.20 PM](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.15.20%20PM.png?width=497&height=333&name=Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.15.20%20PM.png)

 

![Screenshot 2025-11-04 at 1.16.50 PM](https://helpdesk.counselmore.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Knowledge%20Base%20Import/Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.16.50%20PM.png?width=670&height=531&name=Screenshot%202025-11-04%20at%201.16.50%20PM.png)

### Prepare an eSignature document

**Important:** This is available to certain [eligible users](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/12315692#eligible_users).

1. Open the eSignature side panel. 
     - If you start from PDF files in Google Drive: 
           1. On your computer, go to [drive.google.com](http://drive.google.com/).
           2. Upload a new PDF file or find an existing one that you want to use.
           3. Open the PDF file in viewing mode.
           4. At the top right, click Menu ![More](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/oLoRPrHJd7m46sWijX6zBWnEnfslP62AxJSwt5Nj0bNbpaYHz2pyscExleiofsH2kQ=h36) ![and then](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3_l97rr0GvhSP2XV5OoCkV2ZDTIisAOczrSdzNCBxhIKWrjXjHucxNwocghoUa39gw=w36-h36) **eSignature**.
     - If you start from Google Docs: 
           1. On your computer, go to [drive.google.com](https://drive.google.com/).
           2. Create a new Google Doc or open an existing one.
           3. At the top, click **Tools** ![and then](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3_l97rr0GvhSP2XV5OoCkV2ZDTIisAOczrSdzNCBxhIKWrjXjHucxNwocghoUa39gw=w36-h36) **eSignature**.
2. If you have multiple signers, under “Insert fields for,” select the specific signer you want to insert an eSignature field for. 
     - To update the list of available signers in the dropdown, select **Manage signers**. It’ll open the **Manage signers** dialog.
     - In the **Manage signers** dialog, you can add up to 10 signers and assign labels for each signer to identify the signers in the document.
3. Drag one or more of the following fields to add to your document: 
     - Signature
     - Initials
     - Name
     - Text field
     - Date signed
4. To find who the field is assigned to, click the field. 
     - To update signer assignment for the field, use the **Assigned to** dropdown in the popup.
     - To update the list of signers in the Google Doc and open the same dialog as above, in the dropdown, click **Manage signers**.
     - When you select a ”Text Field,” you can add a description and select the font size in the popup. 
           - The description informs signers what you expect in this field, like “Job title” or “Email address.”
           - The font size you set becomes the font size of the value the signer enters for this text field.
5. To add all signers and eSignature fields for signers in the document, repeat the steps.

**Tips:**

- You can add a maximum of 200 fields of any type per document.
- You can add up to 10 signers to an eSignature request.
- For a signer in the document, the signer label is just a placeholder identifier and isn't part of the signing PDF that’s generated later.
- There's no requirement to use signer's email addresses as signer labels at this point since no emails are sent yet. That happens later in the "Send an eSignature request” section below where the placeholder labels for signers are mapped to actual email addresses.
- To differentiate fields assigned to different signers easily, each signer in the document is assigned a unique color. All fields assigned to the same signer are displayed in the same color.

### Send an eSignature request

1. After you add all appropriate fields, on the right, click **Request signature**. 
     - Collaborators that own or have edit access to the document can find this button. Otherwise, this button won't be available.
2. Enter a title for the generated PDF file.
3. Enter the email address for each signer. 
     - You can also add a message that'll be sent to the signers in the eSignature request email.
4. To send periodic reminders to signers, turn on **Automatic reminders**. 
     - When this is enabled, signers who haven't completed the request will receive a reminder email 3 days (72 hours) after the initial request is sent.
     - Additional reminders are sent every 3 days after that, for up to 9 days, or until the document is signed.
5. You can select the audit trail locale in the request dialog. This value determines the locale in which the audit trail generates at the end.
6. Review and accept Terms of Service if shown in the request dialog.
7. Click **Request signature**. 
     - After your request is successfully created: 
           - A PDF is made from your document and shared with the signers. They can sign the form, but won’t be able to make any other edits or change who has access to the file.
           - An email notification with a link to the document is sent to the signers.
8. You can find a PDF copy of the sent file in the same folder as your original document. 
     - **Important**: The PDF copy will be saved in your **My Drive** instead of the original folder in two cases: 
           - If you are not an Editor of the folder where it is stored.
           - If the original folder's [sharing rules](https://support.google.com/a/answer/60781) would prevent the signers from having access to the file. Saving to My Drive makes sure all signers can see the document.

**Tips:**

- After you click **Request signature**, the PDF file locks to avoid any changes before the signers can fulfill the eSignature request. The file used to create the signature request remains unlocked and isn't automatically shared with the signers as part of the eSignature request.
- To check the progress of an eSignature request: 
    - Open the respective PDF file in Drive or through the link in the email notification.
    - To open the right side panel and view eSignature details, at the top right of the PDF, click **View details**.

Save a contract template

To save a PDF file with eSignature fields as a template, at the top right, click **Save changes**. For future use, Google Docs saves the eSignature fields automatically.

Add changes to a document after you send it

You can't update the PDF file once an eSignature request starts on it because the PDF file is locked. You can still organize it in your Drive, for instance: change its location.

To change or cancel the eSignature request after a request is sent, select **Cancel**. You can send a new request after you add changes to the source Google Doc or PDF file in Google Drive and send a new PDF file for signature. Follow the steps in [Create and send a document for eSignature](https://support.google.com/docs/answer/12315692#create&senddoc).

If the eSignature request is active, you can't unlock the PDF file. You can still add changes to the Google Doc at any time because it isn't locked as part of the eSignature request.

 

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