Why a rejected PDF upload is not an envelope

Upload a PDF from Documents → new, or from Templates → new. Empty uploads return Upload a PDF file. Non-PDFs return Only PDF files are accepted. Unreadable bytes return This file could not be read as a PDF. Oversized files return PDF must be 15 MB or smaller. Files over 15 MB are rejected. That refusal does not count toward the monthly envelope cap. That is rejected-upload honesty: a bounced file is not a draft you already spent, a 15 MB no is not HTTP 402 ENVELOPE_LIMIT, and opening Billing will not “count the attempt as insurance.”

What the counter actually increments is what counts as an envelope. Where a good file lands is where uploaded PDFs are stored. S3 versus local is Settings storage: S3 versus local. Desk help is Docs. This guide is why the monthly number stays put when the picker already said no.

The FAQ and Features start from a PDF. Ask Inkpacket for why a rejected PDF upload is not an envelope to open this article. Ask how to upload a pdf to open help. Those phrases stay on the product screens. This article is the public version of why a .docx renamed in hope, a zero-byte picker, or a 16 MB scan does not spend a Free envelope.

The four refusals

• Empty. Upload a PDF file. Nothing landed. Nothing counted.
• Wrong type. Only PDF files are accepted. A renamed office file is still not a PDF.
• Unreadable. This file could not be read as a PDF. Bytes that are not a real document are rejected.
• Too large. PDF must be 15 MB or smaller. Files over 15 MB are rejected.

A PDF needs at least one readable page. There is no separate page-count cap. After a successful upload the desk opens that envelope at /desk/documents/:id — that draft still is not a send. Sending the draft counts. Free allows 5 packets a month. Desk send, bulk rows, Web Form fills, and API send share the same cap. A rejected picker never created the draft, so it never reached Send, so it never reached 402. Do not confuse the 15 MB string with ENVELOPE_LIMIT. One is a file gate. The other is a monthly send gate.

What this is not

• Not a hidden send. The document list does not gain a SENT or DRAFT row when the upload already failed.
• Not storage down. File storage is unavailable is an unreachable bucket after a file was accepted. Re-upload a valid PDF.
• Not The stored PDF is empty. That is a zero-byte object that already landed. This guide is the picker saying no first.
• Not checkout. Billing is not open. Paying a listed price does not raise the 15 MB cap or count a rejection.

A missing object later returns The PDF could not be loaded from storage. Signers who see Could not load the PDF should refresh; if it persists, the sender opens the envelope and confirms the file. Those messages are load failures on an envelope that already exists. A rejected upload never got that far. Settings shows S3-compatible when the S3_* keys are set, otherwise Local fallback — uploads still work. GET /api/v1/health reports storage.configured and storage.backend. Health staying 200 does not turn a 16 MB file into an envelope.

The click-path

1. Choose a real PDF at or under 15 MB. Confirm the monthly counter did not move when the picker refuses.
2. If upload succeeds, you have a draft. Place fields. Send. Confirm the counter moved by one.
3. If send returns HTTP 402 ENVELOPE_LIMIT, that is the monthly cap, not the 15 MB string.
4. If storage later says unavailable, re-upload. That retry is still not a second envelope until you send.
5. On a phone, Documents is a drawer row. The same four refusal strings appear. Help is not a drawer row — it stays in the header.

Template upload uses the same 15 MB and PDF-only checks. Saving a template after a good file still does not count — why saving a template is not an envelope. Reminders go out by email today. Text-message (SMS) is coming soon. Email still soft-fails on the send, not on the picker. Text-message (SMS) is coming soon. Drive archive waits for completed. Stripe off: Payments not live. None of those flags increment the counter on a rejected file. Ask Inkpacket for why a rejected PDF upload is not an envelope to open this article.

Ask and the picker

Ask Inkpacket for why a rejected PDF upload is not an envelope to open this article. Ask how to upload a pdf or how file storage works to open help. Ask upload a pdf to open Documents → new. Marketing Ask stays site Q&A and deep links. It will not upload a file or increment the monthly cap from this article. The refusal string is the product.

Caps and what is not open yet

A rejected upload is not a send. Send is. 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 count a bounced file or raise the 15 MB cap. The FAQ and FAQ use Upload a PDF file, Only PDF files are accepted, This file could not be read as a PDF, and PDF must be 15 MB or smaller in the same words.

Fix the file. Upload again. Send when you mean to count. Open a workspace on Free — see published pricing — and drop a throwaway non-PDF on Documents → new so rejected-upload honesty is a string you already read, not a 402 you opened Settings to undo.