Declining a Contract

You can decline to sign a contract at any point during your signing session — before or after the OTP step — as long as you have not yet submitted your signature. Declining is a formal action that closes the envelope for all parties and notifies the Sender immediately.

Decline contract modal with reason text field during signing session

When to decline

Decline a contract when:

• The terms do not reflect what was agreed

• You believe you were added as a signer by mistake

• You need legal review before you can commit

• You are not the correct signatory and someone else should sign

If you have questions about the contract terms rather than an objection, contact the Sender before declining — the Sender may be able to void and resend a corrected version without requiring you to formally decline.

How to decline

1. Open your signing session from the Jira notification or email invitation.

2. At any stage of the session (Review, OTP, Consent, or Capture), locate the Decline to sign link or button. It appears below the main action button on each stage.

3. Select Decline to sign.

4. In the Decline reason modal, enter a brief explanation. The reason is required — it is recorded in the audit trail and communicated to the Sender.

5. Select Confirm decline.

What happens after you decline

• The Decline is recorded in the contract audit trail immediately with your name, timestamp, and reason.

• The contract status changes to Declined on the Sender's Contracts list.

• The Sender receives a Jira notification and email indicating you declined, including the reason you provided.

• All other signers' pending links are deactivated. A declined contract closes for everyone, not just the signer who declined.

• No signed PDF is generated.

After declining — what the Sender sees

From the Sender's perspective, the contract detail shows:

• Your signer row with a Declined status badge and your decline reason

• The full audit trail including the decline event

The Sender can start a new contract if appropriate. They cannot reactivate the declined envelope.

Can you change your mind after declining?

No. A declined action is permanent and cannot be reversed. Once you select Confirm decline, your signing session is closed and the envelope is cancelled.

If you declined by mistake, contact the Sender immediately. They can void the declined contract (it closes automatically) and send a new envelope. You will receive a fresh invitation to sign.

Decline vs. not responding

If you simply do not open your signing session before the contract expires, the envelope status changes to Expired — not Declined. An expiry is different from a decline:

Next steps

• The Signing Invitation — how signing invitations work

• Revising a Declined Contract — Sender's guide to handling a decline