How to Collect Supporting Documents Before Signing

TL;DR: Signers can upload supporting files, such as IDs, tax forms, insurance certificates, and resumes, directly within the eSignature workflow. Senders can set instructions, file types, signer assignments, and requirements, keeping documents and attachments together.

Many agreements need more than a signature. A vendor has to provide a current insurance certificate. A job candidate has to submit a resume and a photo ID. A customer has to share proof of address before an account can be opened. In every one of these workflows, you need to collect supporting documents before the agreement is genuinely complete.

Most teams handle this outside the signing process: a follow-up email, a link to a shared folder, a separate intake form. The signature comes back on Monday, the document arrives on Thursday, and someone has to reconnect the two.

A Request Attachment field closes that gap. It lets signers upload supporting documents as part of the same session in which they sign, so the file and the agreement stay connected from the start. This guide covers what the field does, when to use it, and how to set it up in BoldSign so signers send the right file the first time.

Key takeaways

• Request Attachments let signers upload supporting documents inside the signing workflow instead of through separate emails.
• Senders control the attachment title, the instruction shown to the signer, the accepted file types, and whether the upload is required.
• Supported formats are PDF (.pdf), Word (.docx), and images (.jpg, .jpeg, .png).
• A single document can contain multiple attachment fields, each assigned to a different signer.
• Attachments can be downloaded separately or combined with the signed document, and every action is recorded in the audit trail.
• Saving the field in a reusable template keeps document collection consistent across HR, vendor, and customer workflows.

Why collecting files separately slows the process

When supporting documents are requested outside the signing flow, the sender is running two workflows at once and tracking both by hand:

For a single agreement, this is manageable. It stops being manageable when an HR team is onboarding fifteen new hires in a week, an operations team is renewing insurance certificates across every active vendor, or a lender is collecting income proof from every applicant.

The signer feels the friction too. They sign on their phone, receive a second email asking for a document, have to find that document, and then have no way of knowing whether it arrived. Every extra step is a place where the process can stall.

What is a request attachment field?

A Request Attachment is a form field that lets a signer upload a file as part of the signing process. Other form fields collect typed information, a name, a date, a checkbox. This one collects a document.

The sender adds the field while preparing the signature request and assigns it to a specific signer. When that signer opens the document, the attachment field appears alongside their signature and other fields. They upload the file, complete the rest, and sign. One session, one workflow.

Files senders commonly request:

• Government-issued ID or proof of address
• Insurance certificates, licenses, and registrations
• Tax and banking forms
• Resumes, qualifications, and professional certifications
• Signed policy acknowledgments or supporting contract documents
• Project specifications, site photos, or inspection reports

Supported file types. Signers can upload PDF (.pdf), Word (.docx), and image files (.jpg, .jpeg, .png). The sender chooses which of these to accept for each individual field, so you can insist on a PDF where a phone photo would not be acceptable. Password-protected files are not supported, so the signer needs to remove the password before uploading. See the full list of supported formats and sizes.

A single document can contain several attachment fields, and each one can be assigned to a different signer, useful when a buyer and a guarantor both need to submit something different.

When to use request attachments

Request Attachments fit any workflow where a signer must hand over a file before the agreement can be considered complete.

Employee onboarding

HR teams can collect a photo ID, tax forms, certifications, and signed policy acknowledgments alongside the offer letter or employment agreement. One workflow to manage instead of an agreement followed by a week of chasing documents. Paired with a template and bulk send, the same set of documents can be requested from an entire onboarding cohort at once.

Vendor and supplier onboarding

Procurement and operations teams can request insurance records, business registrations, and compliance certificates at the point the vendor signs. Reviewers then see the agreement and its supporting files as one record rather than two.

Customer and account onboarding

Banks, insurers, and service providers can ask a customer for identity documents or a supporting form while they complete the service agreement, so the customer never has to move between email, a file-sharing link, and the agreement.

Contract updates and renewals

When a renewal depends on an updated certificate or an amended schedule, the attachment field keeps the new file attached to the signing event that made it necessary.

When a request attachment is not the right tool

• If your goal is to verify who the signer is rather than keep a copy of a document, use signer identity verification instead. It checks a government ID and a biometric selfie before the signer can open the document, which a manually reviewed upload cannot do.
• If you are running a broad intake process with many questions and documents unrelated to a specific agreement, a dedicated form is a better fit.
• If the file has to be reviewed before the agreement is drafted, a scope document that changes the contract terms, collect it as a separate step first.

How to collect supporting documents in BoldSign

Here is the full setup, from uploading the document to downloading the file the signer sends back.

1. Upload the document you need signed, or start from one of the free templates available in BoldSign.

2. Add your recipients. Enter each signer’s name and email address, choose the delivery method, and turn on signing order if the document has to move through people in sequence.

3. On the Configure fields page, select the signer who needs to upload the file from the dropdown, then drag the Attachment field onto the document. Place it next to the text that explains what you are asking for.

4. Fill in the attachment settings panel on the right. Four settings decide whether the signer sends the right file:

• Attachment title: This is what the signer reads first. Name the document, not the action.
• Instruction (optional): Use it when the requirement needs explaining, a date range, a specific form version, or a page that must be included.
• Accept only: Restrict to PDF when you need a clean, readable record. Allow images when a photo of an ID or a site is acceptable.
• Required: Tick it when the workflow cannot continue without the file. Leave it optional when the file is only useful in some cases.

The title does most of the work here. A generic title produces generic uploads.

5. Add the signature field and any other fields each signer needs to complete, then preview the document and send it.

6. The signer opens the document, clicks the attachment field, selects the file, and uploads it. They then complete the remaining fields and sign. If you marked the field as required, they cannot finish signing until the file is attached.

7. After signing is complete, open the document from My Documents. Use More actions to download the attachment, the signed document, or the audit trail. The Document History tab shows every action taken on the document and by whom.

If you send this kind of request regularly, save the finished document as a template. Every sender on your team then starts from the same field labels and instructions instead of rebuilding the request from memory. For high volumes, pair the template with bulk send to collect the same set of documents from dozens of signers in one go.

Before you send: a quick check

The field settings are only half of it. Four things are worth confirming before the request goes out:

Keeping collected files secure

Supporting documents are usually more sensitive than the agreement itself. A signed service contract is commercial information. A driver’s license, a tax form, or a bank statement is personal data with real consequences if it is mishandled.

This is where email collection quietly creates risk. Every forwarded thread creates another copy, files sit in inboxes and download folders indefinitely, and there is no record of who opened what. Secure document collection means the file lands in one controlled place, not in five.

Signers rarely have the requested file sitting on their desktop. An insurance certificate or a tax form usually lives in whatever system their organisation keeps records in, often document management software. They retrieve it from there and upload it through the attachment field, and from that point the copy you rely on is the one attached to the agreement rather than a version sitting in someone’s downloads folder.

Collecting the file inside the signing workflow keeps it with the agreement it belongs to, under the same access controls, with the same retention rules. In BoldSign, the upload is recorded in the document history alongside the signature, so you can evidence when a file was requested and when it was provided. BoldSign is SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS compliant, and meets ESIGN Act and eIDAS requirements.

Two practical habits go with this: only request files you genuinely need, and agree how long you keep them. An attachment field makes collection easy, which makes over-collection easy too.

What happens after the signer uploads the file

Collection is only half the workflow. Decide in advance what happens next:

• Review the uploaded file against your requirements
• Download the signed document and attachment, together or separately
• Update the customer, employee, vendor, or project record
• Notify the internal team that owns the next step
• Start the next approval or onboarding task
• Go back to the signer if the file does not meet the criteria

A vendor onboarding team may need to check an insurance certificate is current before activating the vendor. An HR team may need to confirm a new hire uploaded the right tax form. A completed signature request means the file arrived, not that it was correct. Someone has to own that check.

Request attachments vs. email follow-ups

Email still has a place when the file has to be reviewed and negotiated before the agreement is even drafted. But when the file is a routine part of the signing process, collecting it inside the workflow is easier for the sender and the signer.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Requesting files you do not need: Every extra field is another chance for the signer to stall. Ask only for what the agreement or the compliance requirement actually calls for.
• Not telling the signer why: When requesting sensitive files, such as an ID or bank form, briefly explain why they are needed to reduce hesitation and incomplete signings.
• Leaving no owner for the review: Uploads that nobody checks give you the paperwork without the assurance. Name the reviewer before you send.
• Using attachments as a general intake form: If the documents have no connection to the agreement, a separate intake process will serve you better and keep the signing experience short.
• Rebuilding the same request every time: If your team collects the same files repeatedly, save the configured fields in a template so labels and instructions stay identical across senders.

Conclusion

Supporting documents are part of the agreement, so they should be part of the signing workflow, not a manual process running alongside it.

Pick one workflow you repeat often, such as vendor onboarding or new hire documentation. Add a Request Attachment field with a clear title, an instruction, and the file types you accept. Save it as a template. Then measure how many follow-up emails disappear.

Try Request Attachments in BoldSign and collect supporting documents directly during signing. Prefer a walkthrough first? Schedule a demo or reach our support team through the support portal.

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