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Feature Friday: Using Agent Managed Envelopes

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Services for Real Estate Pros with DocuSign
You might, as a sender, need to manage a complex brokered transaction in which you don’t have the contact information for all the recipients and signers, but do have the information for the agents or brokers for those recipients. What can you do? With DocuSign Standard or Enterprise, you can use agent managed envelopes to get the electronic signatures you need! While the process for using agent managed envelopes is similar to the standard procedure for sending documents for electronic signature, you’ll have a few more steps to send an agent managed envelope.

Agent Managed Envelopes From DocuSign

By allowing senders to create and assign workflow without knowing all recipient information, DocuSign enables you to create fully digital document processes. The sender adds recipients and assigns roles, without having to enter name and email information and assigns a “manager” to the envelope. This manager knows the contact information for the remaining recipients and can direct the envelope to them. After receiving and reviewing the envelope, the manager can add the names and email information for the next recipients and send them the envelope. After the recipients sign the documents, the final version is returned to the original sender. A manager can be added after some of the recipients, but must be added before the recipients for which the sender doesn’t have information. Just as the sender doesn’t know the contact information for all the recipients, the manager does not see the contact information for recipients ahead of him or her in the workflow. In the figure above, the Sender doesn’t have the contact information for Signer 3 and 4, so he creates an envelope, adds the recipients he knows (Signer 1 and 2) add the Manager, adds the roles for Signer 3 and 4 and then sends the envelope. The Manager receives the envelopes after Signers 1 and 2 sign the document. The Manager adds the contact information for Signer 3 and 4 after receiving the envelope, but does not see the contact information for Signer 1 and 2. Agent managed envelopes allow agents or brokers from both sides of a transaction to manage the signing process through DocuSign to support brokered or channel transactions. When Would I Use Agent Managed Envelopes?
  • Insurance transaction: The insurance carrier can generate an envelope and send it to an insurance agent to use with customers, without knowing any information for the customers. The agent can later add the customer information and send the document for the customer’s electronic signature.
  • Real Estate transaction: The buyer’s agent can generate documents, send them to the buyers to e-sign and then hand the transaction off to the seller’s agent. The seller’s agent reviews the documents, adds the signer’s contact information and sends the documents for their electronic signatures to complete the transaction all in one envelope.
  • Legal transaction: One attorney creates a document for electronic signature and sends it to a second attorney for review and, if approved, the second attorney can send it to his customers for their electronic signature.
When a sender creates a new agent managed envelope, a manager must be added as one of the recipients. The two recipient types that can act as a manager: an Editor or Agent. The recipient type selected by the sender depends on what the changes and additions the sender wants the manager to have and the manager’s access to a DocuSign account.
  • Editor: The Editor recipient type must have a DocuSign account. With the same management and access rights for the envelope as the sender and can make changes to the envelope as if they were using the Advanced Correct feature. Editors can add the name and email information, add or change the routing order and set authentication options for the remaining recipients. Additional, an Editor can edit signature and initial tabs and data fields for the recipients. Additionally, an Editor can only send an envelope when the information for the remaining recipients is filled out.
  • Agent: The Agent recipient type doesn’t require a DocuSign account, so anyone can be an agent. Agents can add name and email information for other recipients and can only send an envelope when the information for the remaining recipients is filled out.
If an Editor or Agent is in the workflow, the sender may add recipients after Editor/Agent without typing the name and email information for those recipients. If the sender leaves a recipient’s name or email blank, the sender must specify a role name for that recipient. Agent managed envelopes empower you to keep your document signing processes completely paperless, even when you don't have the information of every signer! Take a look to learn more about DocuSign's powerful electronic signature platform or take a look at DocuSign's electronic signature blog.

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