Decline closes the envelope

Decline is the signer’s verb. On the signing page — and inside an embed — they refuse and leave a reason. A decline reason is required, 500 characters or fewer. The envelope status becomes declined. Every signing and embed link on that envelope stops. Reminders stop. The sender is emailed when Resend is configured; otherwise the decline is logged the same way as an invite. Intentional limit: one decline closes the whole envelope, even when later sequential signers have not been invited yet. That is decline-close honesty: a refusal is not a skip to the next order. It is the envelope ending.

The three-way fork is correct, void, or decline an envelope. Mid-flight recipient edits are correct an envelope mid-flight. After a mark already landed, the sender stop is void after a partial sign. How several people share one envelope is send one envelope to multiple signers and sequential vs parallel signing. Desk help is Docs. This guide is the close itself.

The FAQ says signers can decline with a reason and the sender is notified. Features names the same limit under envelope admin. Ask Inkpacket for decline closes the envelope to open this article. Ask how to decline or what does this envelope was declined mean to open help. Those phrases stay on the product screens. This article is the public version of why one refusal ends the room.

What one refusal stops

• Sequential: later orders are not invited. The wait page is gone. The envelope is declined.
• Parallel: every outstanding link dies, including people who have not opened theirs.
• Reminders stop. Envelope admin cannot void, correct, or resend a declined envelope.
• The person who already signed does not get an un-sign. Their mark stays in the audit.

A later sequential signer who opens early — before anyone declines — sees This envelope is waiting for an earlier signer. That wait is not a decline. If the first person then refuses, the waiter’s token dies with the envelope. Do not tell them to “hold on, we will skip you.” There is no skip. First-signer waiting message is the wait; this page is the close.

Bulk is per row

A decline on one bulk-send row does not stop the rest of the job. Each unique email is its own envelope. Void or correct that row the same way you would a one-off. Do not disable a Web Form because one filler declined — that slug starts the next stranger. Bulk send for HR and sales envelopes is the fan-out.

What you do after

• Read the reason. Wrong entity and terms changed are different follow-ups.
• If nobody had signed and only the email was wrong, you already missed correct. Send a new envelope.
• If the deal is off, file the declined envelope. Do not void a declined envelope — the API will refuse.
• If the work still needs a signature, send a new envelope from the PDF or template. Count it.

Void is yours when you already know collection should stop and you do not want to wait for a refusal. Decline is theirs. Do not ask them to “just ignore the link” while you send a twin. The old token is already dead once they declined. Do not wait for the last sequential signer to decline a deal you have already killed — void the sent envelope. More on signing order states the same one-decline close.

Mail and webhooks

The sender is emailed when Resend is configured. When it is not, the decline is logged. Copy nothing — there is no live signing URL left to share. A workspace or per-packet webhook can fire declined on that same envelope id. Treat it as a close, not as a “next signer please” event. Listen for envelope status webhooks is that POST.

The click-path

1. Tell multi-signer cohorts that one refusal ends the envelope before you send.
2. If the address is wrong and nobody has signed, correct now — not after they refuse.
3. If they decline, read the reason on the document. Status is declined.
4. Do not open Envelope admin expecting void or correct to reopen it.
5. Send a new envelope only if the work still needs a mark. That send counts.

The signing page copy is This envelope was declined. Embed uses the same token. Ask Inkpacket for how does a decline reason work to open help. This article is why that sentence is the whole envelope, not one row on a routing table.

Caps and what is not open yet

A decline is not a refund. The send already counted. Free allows 5 packets a month. Free at 5 packets a month is the live cap desk send, bulk rows, Web Form fills, and API send share. Hitting it returns HTTP 402 ENVELOPE_LIMIT. Starter is 20 envelopes — more than Free — plus 3 published Web Forms. Seat counts are planning numbers; invite does not refuse when a workspace is full.

Billing is published, not charging. Checkout is not open. Text-message (SMS) is coming soon. Drive missing: Drive not configured. Stripe off: Payments not live. Those flags do not reopen a declined envelope or invite the next sequential signer. The FAQ and envelope admin on Features use one decline closes the envelope in the same words.

Treat a refusal as the close it is. File the reason. Send the next envelope only if the work still needs a mark. Open a workspace on Free — see published pricing — and run a two-signer throwaway so one-decline-closes is a pair you have watched.