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For AI agents: a documentation index is available at https://docs.coverbase.com/llms.txt. This page is also available in markdown by appending .md to the URL.
This guide is part of the User Guides collection. It describes the portal from the signer’s side, so you know what you are asking someone to do. For sending, read envelopes.
Your counterparty does not need a Coverbase account. They get an email, they open a link, and everything happens in their browser, on a phone as readily as a laptop. Nothing is downloaded and nothing is installed. This page describes each screen they pass through, so you can tell which one a confused signer is looking at.

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What they see, in order

1

Prove the address, if you asked for it

Only when the envelope asks for it. Authenticate signers’ identity sends a one-time code to the address the agreement was sent to; an Access code set on that recipient asks for the code you gave them out of band. Either way, signers who were not expecting it often report it as a broken link.
2

Agree to sign electronically

Your organization’s ESIGN disclosure, shown in full. Nothing on the page is writable until they accept, and the exact text they were shown is stored with their acceptance.
3

Read and fill

The document, with their fields marked on it. Everything is saved as they go, so closing the tab loses nothing.
4

Adopt a signature

Once. It then applies to every signature, initials and stamp block that belongs to them.
5

Finish

A separate act from filling the last field. It commits the signature.
A party who opens their link before their turn sees the agreement but cannot act on it, with an explanation of who is ahead of them. They do not get an error, and they do not need to be told to come back later.
A copied party passes through none of these screens. When the envelope is sent they get an email saying who sent the agreement, with the document attached as a PDF and no signing link. When every party has signed, they get the executed copy and its certificate like everyone else.

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The document

Signing portal showing a document with filled and empty fields, a Next chip, the remaining counter, the right-hand tool rail and a progress bar reading six of seven done

The signing portal. The document sits in the middle, the counter and Finish in the header, the tools down the right, and progress along the bottom.

The header names the agreement, says Review and complete, and marks the page a Secure signing link. Finish sits at the top right and stays grayed out until nothing of theirs is outstanding. The field outlines carry meaning, and it is worth knowing which is which when a signer describes one to you: Two things track how far along they are. The N Remaining · Proceed chip in the toolbar counts only the fields that still need them and jumps to the next one; the bar along the bottom reads 6 of 7 done against every field they own. The Next chip is anchored beside the field they are on and skips anything Coverbase fills itself, so a signer is never sent to a box that refuses input. Down the right-hand rail: Summary asks Coverbase to summarize the agreement, Search finds a phrase and marks it on the page, Pages opens a thumbnail rail, and Download and Print take a copy of what they are being asked to sign.
Signing portal with the search panel open, a highlighted phrase on the page and a result listing the page number

Search marks each hit on the page and lists it with its page number and the sentence around it.

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Adopting a signature

Adopt Your Signature dialog with draw and type tabs, name and initials fields, and a style picker

Adopt Your Signature. Draw with a finger or a mouse, or type a name and pick a style.

The dialog offers Draw and Type, each only when Accepted Signature Types in your signing settings allows it. There is no upload option on the signing page. Two things about this come up often in support: One adoption covers every block. A signer adopts once and Coverbase applies it to each signature, initials and stamp slot that belongs to them, wherever they are in the document. They do not initial each page separately. It is remembered. Reopening the dialog shows the mark they adopted rather than a blank pad, so a signer checking their own signature does not have to redraw it. Drawing a new stroke replaces it.
Document showing signature, initials and stamp blocks all filled from one adoption, each captioned with the signer name and id

One adoption, applied to a signature, initials, a stamp and a second signature, each carrying the signer's name and recipient id.

Every mark is captioned with who applied it and their recipient id, on screen and in the sealed PDF. That caption is burned into the executed document, so it stays in English on screen even for a signer reading a translated interface. The page they approve has to match the page they receive.

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Finishing

Finish commits the signature. It is a separate act from filling the last field because ESIGN requires the signer to indicate intent, and filling a box does not do that on its own. The arrow beside Finish opens Other actions: Finish later (everything is already saved, so the same link picks up where they left off), Assign to someone else, which sends a new link to the person they name and closes theirs, Decline to sign, which stops the envelope rather than skipping them, and Print & sign.
Completion screen showing fully executed, download and print buttons, who else is signing, and a preview of the signed document

The confirmation screen, with the executed copy previewed beside it and the other parties' progress below.

The confirmation names what happens next: whether every party has signed or the agreement is still moving, and who is still to act. The link stays valid, so a signer can come back for their copy later rather than needing you to send it.

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Branding the portal

Two places control how the signing link looks to a counterparty.
Sender Name is who the agreement appears to come from. Portal Message is a short line shown above the document on every signing page. Use it for a contact name, or to say which agreement this is part of.
The portal uses the logo and accent color from your organization’s branding settings, so a signing link matches the rest of your branding without a second configuration. Set the logo there and it appears in the portal header.
Your own wording for the invitation, the reminder, the completion notice, the declined notice and the verification code email. Leave a field blank and Coverbase’s built-in copy is used. A subject the sender types for one envelope replaces your invitation subject for that envelope. The email a copied party gets at send always uses Coverbase’s wording.

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What to tell a signer who is stuck

They have not accepted the electronic signature disclosure. Nothing is writable until they do.
They are not the current routing step. They will be emailed when it is their turn.
A required field is still empty. The bar along the bottom says how many of their fields are done, and the Remaining chip takes them straight to the first one that is not.
Two different codes, and which one depends on the envelope. If Authenticate signers’ identity was on, or they came in through the envelope’s portal link, which always asks, the code was emailed to the address the agreement was sent to, and the page offers Send it again. If you set an Access code on that recipient, it is the code you were meant to give them yourself. Coverbase cannot show that code again, so if it is lost, use Correct and resend on the envelope and set a new one.
A Word source is still converting to PDF. The page resolves itself when the conversion lands; no refresh needed.

Sending for signature

Create the envelope, set identity checks, and track what is out.

Signature templates

Field types, required and read-only switches, and the signer tooltip.

E-signature overview

Signing settings: consent wording, accepted signature types, and verification.