Introduction
Signing documents in dotloop is quick and easy! Whether you are sharing a document to a client, or signing your own documents, we will walk through each step to understand not only how signing in dotloop works, but the different methods to accomplish this, as well as how to verify the signatures once a document is signed.
Using This Guide
Scroll down the page in order to review all sections of this tutorial. Or, if you're looking for something specific you can skip to a particular section by clicking on its name. BACK TO TOP links which will bring you back to the top of this page can be found in-between the sections.
Article Sections
- How Clients Sign
- Assigning Signatures
- Host An In Person Signing
- How You Sign Your Own Documents
- Signature Verification
- Consent To Electronic Receipt Of Electronic Consumer Disclosures
How Clients Sign
Understanding how your clients sign is helpful to know what they will expect. This is the process that initiates after you have hit the share button and the document is waiting on others.
Opening the email: there will be an email sent to your clients' inbox with the subject line: ACTION NEEDED - [agent's name] needs you to sign a document - [date stamp] - [time stamp].
After opening this email, they will see the default message sent by dotloop, as well as the custom message you may have typed. Towards the bottom of the email there will be a button labeled VIEW DOCUMENT. This button will open the document shared for signing.
Clicking view document will automatically open up the form. There will be a blue flashing button that will say START SIGNING on the top right of the screen. They will click on that button to initiate the process.
The document will scroll down to the fist place for them to initial or sign. There will be a red box that either says INITIAL HERE or SIGN HERE. Clicking into the red box will initial or sign the field.
After clicking on the red box, a window will appear titled Adopt your signature. Their name and initials will appear in both script and print. If they would like to change their name or initials, they'll simply click into the field where their name appears in print and they can type any change they need to.
If they would like to draw their signature, they can click on the word DRAW SIGNATURE in the bottom left hand corner of the window. They can then use their mouse, or their finger if they are using a mobile device, and draw their signature and initials.
When they are ready to sign, they will click on the blue ADOPT AND SIGN button. Before they do though, they can view Dotloop's ESIGN Consumer Consent Disclosures and Terms of Use by clicking on the blue links.
Once they have signed or initialed the first field, the document will automatically scroll down to the next place assigned for them to initial or sign and they can click in the red box to place their signature.
When they are finished, there will be a blue flashing button on a yellow banner across the top of the page that says FINISH SIGNING. Clicking on that button will automatically save and share the document back to you, the sender, immediately generating an email letting you know they have signed.
If they do not have a Dotloop account, they will be asked to create one. This is entirely optional, however it is recommended if they would like to always have a place to view the documents online. They will see three fields for information. Two of the three will already be filled out with their name and email address. All they have to do is type in a password of their choice (must be at least 6 characters long with numbers and letters) and click the blue SIGN UP button.
If you have shared a document to them with the ability to fill out and sign, the process will be a little bit different. When they have the ability to fill out a document, they probably will not be filling out every single field on the document. When this happens, saving and returning the document to you is a slightly different process. Since they do not fill out every field, the FINISH SIGNING will not be present, so they must instead click on I'M DONE in the top right hand corner instead.
Once they click on I'M DONE, if there are still fields that have not been completed, a window will appear asking are you sure that you are finished. They can select SHOW ME and the it will take them to any unfilled fields on the document. If they are finish though, they'll select SKIP, then the document will save and be returned to you.
Additionally, if they want to view messages or download/print the document before or after signing, they can do so by clicking on the 3 horizontal dots at the top right of the page.
Things to remember:
- When signing, it is best to use an updated internet browser. Having an older browser will cause issues when attempting to sign documents.
Assigning Signatures
Signature fields in documents can be assigned one of two ways. If your document is an interactive document that has been properly set up to autofill you can assign fields automatically. This option will prompt you immediately upon opening one of these documents for the first time.
If you have already opened the document, or previously autofilled it, you can always access the autofill window across the top menu bar when within a document.
Alternatively, if the document is not set up to autofill, any field in dotloop can be assigned to a specific person. To do this, first click on the field you wish to assign. This will prompt a second menu bar to appear at the top.
In this new menu bar will be an area that will show you who the field is currently assigned to. You have the option now in this menu to assign the field to either a specific person (allowing only that person to interact with that field), a specific role (allowing anyone with that role to interact with the field), no one (which allows no one to interact with the field), or anyone (which will allow anyone with access to the document to interact with the field).
Host An In Person Signing
If you are currently with the person, or persons, you wish to sign a document, dotloop will allow you to host the signing in person, directly from your account. To do this you must first have the person in the loop, with an email address, and the document prepared for signing, and saved.
Next, open the document(s) you wish to have them sign, and from the MORE menu at the top, choose HOST IN PERSON SIGNING.
The following screen will ask you who you would like to sign first, the bullet will automatically be placed on the person at the top of the list. Just click continue once you've chosen.
You will be instructed to hand your device over to the individual who will be signing. In my case, I need to let Barry take over the reigns to my computer. Note: If your client has a Dotloop account already, it will ask them to sign in to continue.
With Barry now having clicked Start Signing, the regular signing process will begin.
Once the client has completed signing dotloop will prompt them to sign in. You can now either let them sign in, or sign back into your account to return.
How You Sign Your Own Documents
If you have a document and you need to sign any spots, you can do so from within the document! No need to add yourself as a person in the loop, since you're automatically added already. To accomplish this, let's first open up the document we need to sign and navigate to the field that requires our signature.
If the field is not currently assigned to us, we can re-assign it by clicking on the field and choosing our name from the top menu.
Once assigned, hover your mouse over the field and choose SIGN NOW and you will be prompted to start signing!
Signature Verification
Signature verification is a way to verify the signatures within a document. This verification can be sent to any party requesting verification of the eSignatures within a document. To access this, open any document that has been signed in dotloop. At the top left of the document will be a link (this link is also active on downloaded PDF's). Clicking on this link will take you to the signature verification page.
When in the signature verification page you can view each signature's verification information, as well as print this page.
Consent To Electronic Receipt Of Electronic Consumer Disclosures
Linked below is a PDF detailing DotLoop's CONSENT TO ELECTRONIC RECEIPT OF ELECTRONIC CONSUMER DISCLOSURES.