Send a Document for Signature by Text
Email open rates are mediocre and signing emails land in spam. Text messages get read, usually within minutes. For contractors, landlords, salons, tutors and anyone whose customers live on their phones, texting a signing link is the fastest way to get a document signed — as long as the link opens a real signing flow, not a PDF the customer has to print.
The attachment that never comes back
Email a PDF and ask for a signature, and you start a cycle: the customer opens it on a phone, has no printer, means to deal with it later, and forgets. Or they reply with a photo of a signed printout, crooked, missing page two. Days pass and the job, the lease or the enrollment waits on paperwork.
What the template covers
One link per signer
Each signer gets their own link. Tap "Text" and your phone opens a message with the link ready; pick the contact and send.
Two minutes on a phone
The signer opens the link, reads the document, signs with a finger and, if you asked for it, confirms their identity with a selfie and ID or with Face ID.
Know where every signature stands
See which documents are pending and which are signed. When the last person signs, everyone receives the final PDF with its signature certificate.
Email and QR still available
The same link can go by email, WhatsApp or as a QR code for someone standing in front of you.
What to know about texting documents
The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001, provides that a signature, contract or record may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form, and every state except New York has adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act; New York reaches the same result through its Electronic Signatures and Records Act. Two practical notes. If a law requires that certain information be provided to a consumer in writing, ESIGN § 7001(c) requires the consumer's affirmative consent before that information is delivered electronically. And the Telephone Consumer Protection Act governs marketing and autodialed texts; a one-to-one message sending a document the customer is expecting is transactional, but keep it that way.
A roofer who closes jobs the same day
A roofing contractor in Tampa used to email estimates and contracts after each inspection and wait two or three days for a signed copy. Now he texts the contract from the driveway after walking the roof. Most homeowners sign within the hour, and he books the crew while he is still on site.
Getting text signatures right
- Tell the signer in the message what the document is, so the link does not look like spam.
- Send one link per signer instead of a group text.
- Require ID verification for documents that create debts or obligations.
- Collect consent first if a law requires you to deliver certain information to a consumer in writing.
Questions people ask about this
Can I send a document for signature by text message?
Yes. You text a secure signing link; the signer opens it on their phone and signs in the browser.
Is a document signed from a text link legally binding?
Yes. The ESIGN Act and UETA give it the same effect as an ink signature, and the audit trail records who signed and when.
Does the signer need an app?
No. The link opens in their phone browser.
Can someone forward the link and sign for someone else?
Each link is personal, and if you require ID or biometric verification, a forwarded link cannot be signed by someone else without it showing in the record.
What if the signer changes phones before signing?
The link works on any device, so they can open it on a new phone or a computer, or you can re-send it by email.