> You are reading the Docusign Developer Documentation. For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > > Documentation indexes by section: > - APIs and SDKs: https://docusign.docs.buildwithfern.com/docs/llms.txt > - Platform 101: https://docusign.docs.buildwithfern.com/platform/llms.txt > - Extension Apps: https://docusign.docs.buildwithfern.com/extension-apps/llms.txt > - Docusign CLI: https://docusign.docs.buildwithfern.com/docusign-cli/llms.txt > > Authentication (OAuth, JWT Grant, M2M): https://docusign.docs.buildwithfern.com/platform/auth > Webhooks and Connect: https://docusign.docs.buildwithfern.com/platform/webhooks > > OpenAPI specifications: https://docusign.docs.buildwithfern.com/openapi.json > MCP server: https://docusign.docs.buildwithfern.com/_mcp/server # Envelopes > Learn about envelope objects, how they fit into the eSignature workflow, and about commonly-used envelope functionality. ## Envelopes An [Envelope](/docs/esign-rest-api/reference/envelopes) object is the overall container for a Docusign transaction. It contains: * One or more documents that will be signed electronically * Information about the sender * Information about the [Recipients](/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/recipients), including all other objects (such as [Tabs](/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/tabs)) that are associated with those recipients * Status information that tracks delivery and signature progress An envelope is identified by its ID, which is a [GUID](http://guid.one/). You can reference this ID in API calls that update or retrieve information about an envelope. > **Note** > > For an example on how to send an envelope for signature, see [How to request a signature by email](/docs/esign-rest-api/how-to/request-signature-email-remote) The Envelope diagram below shows the data structure of an envelope object, illustrating how it contains documents and recipients of various types, as well as the tabs associated with those recipients. ![Envelope structure graphic](/_fern-files/_img/1d54b54124c0cffd50cba53d93f18d851fb904cad97074ec0ad2f9581e057a09.webp) > **Note:** Most eSignature integrations create and send a lot of envelopes. You can use templates to save your envelope data and easily create new copies. See [Templates](/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/templates) for details. When you send an envelope, either by email or SMS, the Docusign platform notifies the recipients. This notification can be sent to recipients in a specific order or to all recipients at once. > **Note:** In addition to sending envelopes to your recipients (which we call *remote signing*), you can also have recipients sign directly through your app’s UI using a process called *embedded signing*. For details on how this differs from remote signing, see [Embedded signing and sending](/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/embedding/embedded-signing). A [Developer account](/platform/account) is needed to create and send envelopes, but recipients (signers) do not need an account and signing is always free. ## Next steps Read about important envelope features: * [Searching for envelopes](/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/search) * [Envelope locks](/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/lock) * [Bulk sending envelopes](/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/bulk-send) * [Folders](/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/folders) Working with envelopes? Learn: * [How to request a signature by email](/docs/esign-rest-api/how-to/request-signature-email-remote) * [How to bulk send envelopes](/docs/esign-rest-api/how-to/bulk-send-envelopes) * [How to request a signature by email using a template](/docs/esign-rest-api/how-to/request-signature-template-remote) For demos of envelope sending options and walkthroughs of the sequences of API calls that implement these options, see these scenarios in the MyAPICalls sample app: * [Remote Signing with Template](https://myapicalls.sampleapps.docusign.com/scenario/1) * [Embedded Signing](https://myapicalls.sampleapps.docusign.com/scenario/2) > Learn about envelope objects, how they fit into the eSignature workflow, and about commonly-used envelope functionality. ## Docs - [Searching for envelopes](https://developers.docusign.com/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/search.md): Learn how to apply search filters and retrieve specific sets of eSignature envelopes. - [Envelope Locks](https://developers.docusign.com/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/lock.md): Describes the envelope locking feature, how to set a lock, and when you should lock an envelope. - [Bulk sending envelopes](https://developers.docusign.com/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/bulk-send.md): Describes the bulk send feature with examples of how to send copies of a specific envelope to multiple bulk recipients. - [Folders](https://developers.docusign.com/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/folders.md): Folders are containers of envelopes or templates that help you organize your workspace. - [Envelope status codes](https://developers.docusign.com/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/status-codes.md): Learn about envelope statuses for the eSignature REST API. - [Share access to your mailbox or individual envelopes](https://developers.docusign.com/docs/esign-rest-api/esign101/concepts/envelopes/share-access-to-mailbox-or-envelopes.md): Delegate signing, send on behalf of another user, or share envelope inbox access using the shared access feature.