Make signing a native feature of your product

Every redirect is a drop-off risk. Every time someone leaves your product to sign a document, some don't come back. The context switch creates friction, breaks your brand experience, and costs you conversions. When you embed signing, it becomes your feature. Your users sign documents directly in your product without being redirected to a third-party site. To them, signing is just another capability of your product, like any other feature you've built.

What this means for your product:

• Signing becomes part of your value proposition ("Complete your entire onboarding without leaving our platform")

• Your users don't need separate PandaDoc accounts

• You control the signing experience, timing, and what happens next

• Your product owns the entire user journey from start to finish

This isn't just an integration—it's extending your product's capabilities to include legally binding e-signatures without building signing infrastructure from scratch.

Example: A property management platform doesn't tell tenants "we use PandaDoc for signatures." They say "sign your lease and get your move-in checklist, all in one place." To tenants, signing is a native feature of the tenant portal.

Is embedded signing right for your use case?

This approach works best when signing is part of a core product workflow and completion rates directly impact your business. You’re a strong fit if: 

• Your product includes user-facing workflows that require signatures (onboarding, agreements, consents)

• Completion rates impact revenue or activation metrics

• You want control over the user experience without building signing infrastructure from scratch

• You have development resources available (typically 1-2 weeks of engineering time)

Consider alternatives if: 

• You send documents occasionally or in low volume (a native integration might be simpler)

• You require fully white-labeled signing UI with zero third-party branding

• You need in-person notarization (the API supports remote online notarization via video, but not in-person notarization)

Common questions before you build

What if a user's session expires while they're reviewing the document? Sessions are time-limited for security (you configure the duration). If a session expires, your app can generate a new one automatically. Users won't lose their place.

Can multiple people sign the same document? Yes. Generate separate signing sessions for each recipient. They can sign in any order (or a specific order you define), and each person only sees their own signing fields.

Does embedded signing work on mobile? Yes. The signing interface works in mobile web browsers and in web views within native mobile apps. 

Is this legally binding? Yes. All signatures meet electronic signature regulations (ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS). Every signature includes a full audit trail with IP addresses, timestamps, and signer verification.

How embedded signing works: step-by-step

1. Choose your integration approach The integration approach you choose determines your users' experience and completion rates. There are two ways to deliver an in-app signing experience:

• Embedded session (recommended): Generate a secure signing session and render it inside your app with an iframe. Users never leave your product. This approach delivers the highest completion rates.

Shared link: Generate a secure signing link and redirect users to PandaDoc's hosted signing page. Simpler to implement, but creates a context switch that can reduce completion.

Here’s how with PandaDoc API: Both options use the same endpoint. Your team can start with shared links and migrate to embedded sessions later, or go straight to embedded if user experience is the priority.

2. Generate the document with customer data Set up a document template in PandaDoc with placeholders for signer details like customer name, email, and company. Every time a user reaches the signing step in your product, the API generates a fresh document with their information pre-filled. The document is ready in seconds. Here’s how with PandaDoc API: Your system sends recipient data and any placeholder values to the document creation endpoint. The API fills the template automatically—no manual document preparation required. Example: When a new customer completes your product's setup wizard, the API generates a service agreement with their company name, selected plan details, and contract start date already populated.

Take it further: You can also automate document generation from your CRM so documents are created and ready for signing without any manual work.

3. Create a secure signing session Create a secure session that lets your user sign inside your app. Each session is unique to the signer and time-limited for security. Here’s how with PandaDoc API: Request a session for a specific recipient email. The API returns a unique session ID you'll use to embed the document. If a session expires, your app can generate a new one automatically.

Example: A fintech app creates a signing session immediately after identity verification and embeds the document. The session is configured to expire in 15 minutes for enhanced security in their compliance-focused workflow.

4. Embed the signing interface in your product Use the session ID to display the document in your application. Users see the document, review terms, and sign, all within your product's interface. The same integration approach works in web browsers and mobile apps with minimal adjustments. Here’s how with PandaDoc API: The API returns a session ID that you use to construct the URL and render it in an iframe (web) or webview (mobile). You control the container presentation and the signing interface itself maintains PandaDoc's design for legal compliance and usability. Example: A vertical SaaS platform embeds signing in a modal that appears after users complete onboarding forms. The modal matches their design system, and users sign without realizing they've interacted with a third-party tool.

5. Configure what happens after signing Control where users go after they complete signing and what happens in your system automatically. Control the user experience: Configure Configure what happens in the embedded session when signing completes. Show a success message, redirect to their dashboard, unlock a feature, or start their onboarding sequence.

Automate your workflows: Use webhooks to receive real-time notifications when signatures complete. Your system can immediately trigger next steps: update records, send emails, provision access, alert teams. Here’s how with PandaDoc API: Subscribe to document status change and recipient completion webhook events. When a customer signs, PandaDoc sends notifications to your system. Your code receives these events and triggers the appropriate workflows.

Example: A SaaS company's trial users sign terms during onboarding. The webhook fires immediately on completion, automatically converting the trial to a paid account and sending a welcome email with login credentials.

6. Store signed documents automatically Retrieve signed documents and store them where they belong, whether that's your database, CRM, or user record system. Track document status in real time. Here’s how with PandaDoc API:

• Webhooks notify your system when documents are viewed, signed, declined, or voided

• Download endpoint lets you retrieve signed PDFs and store them in your system

• Compliance built in: All signing activity is logged automatically: IP addresses, timestamps, signer identity verification, full audit trail. Meets requirements for electronic signature regulations (ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS) without additional engineering.

Implementation timeline and requirements

Typical scope: 1-2 weeks for a production-ready embedded signing integration Team requirements:

• One backend engineer (API integration and webhook setup)

• One frontend engineer or PM with Copilot tools (iframe/webview implementation)

• Product manager involvement for workflow design and post-signing logic

Ongoing maintenance: Minimal once implemented. Most teams only revisit the integration when adding new document types or workflows.

Results: Higher completion, faster activation

Teams that embed signing see immediate improvements in user engagement and conversion: 

• Significantly higher completion rates: Users don’t abandon the signing flow when they stay in your product

• Better product metrics: Higher trial-to-paid conversion, faster onboarding completion, and improved user retention when signing feels native to your product.

• Fewer support tickets: Less confusion about where to sign or how to find documents

• Faster time-to-activation: Agreements are signed and processed in minutes, not days.

When signing happens inside your product, users stay engaged and your workflow stays intact.

Resources and examples

Next Steps

• Primary: Ready to try it yourself? →