> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.atlaswork.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Envelope lifecycle

> The states an envelope moves through, and what triggers each transition.

Every envelope moves through a defined set of states. The same lifecycle applies
no matter which surface created the envelope.

## States

| State         | Meaning                                                            |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `draft`       | Created; fully editable. Detection has not started yet.            |
| `detecting`   | Field detection in progress. Poll status or watch the events feed. |
| `review`      | Detection complete; fields assigned. Awaiting the Send action.     |
| `in_progress` | Sent; one or more participants still need to act.                  |
| `completed`   | All participants signed. Signed PDF and certificate available.     |
| `voided`      | Cancelled before completion.                                       |
| `declined`    | A participant declined; the envelope is terminated.                |
| `expired`     | Reached its expiration before completing.                          |

## Transitions

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create → draft">
    Submitting a document and participants creates the envelope in `draft` and kicks off detection
    asynchronously. The response returns immediately with the envelope ID and a review URL.
  </Step>

  <Step title="draft → detecting → review">
    Detection starts (`detecting`), finishes, and assigns every field to a participant. If
    detection fails, the envelope still lands in `review` for manual field placement. Anything in
    `draft` or `review` is fully editable — fields, participants, and policy.
  </Step>

  <Step title="review → in_progress">
    On **Send**, a credit is consumed and the first participant is emailed their link. With
    review-first (the default), a human clicks Send; with auto-send or a trusted template, Atlas
    sends as soon as detection completes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Signing (stays in_progress)">
    Each participant opens their link, consents to electronic signature, fills only their own
    fields, and submits — or declines, which terminates the envelope. Signing is strictly
    sequential: the next participant's link is issued only when their turn begins, and they
    cannot see or act before then. Every view, consent, signature, and decline is recorded in
    the envelope's event log with timestamp, IP, and user agent.
  </Step>

  <Step title="in_progress → completed">
    The last participant submits. Atlas stamps the final PDF, generates the audit certificate,
    notifies sender and signers, and fires webhooks. The envelope reports `completed` only once
    the signed artifacts durably exist — status never runs ahead of the documents.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Mid-flight actions

Available to the sender via the REST API, MCP, and dashboard equivalently:

* **Remind** — re-send the current participant's signing email (free,
  rate-limited).
* **Resend / recover link** — reissue a participant's link. Reissuing
  invalidates every previously sent link for that participant; only the latest
  email works.
* **Void** — cancel any envelope before completion. Signers who open a voided
  link see a clear "this document was canceled" state.
* **Edit drafts** — `draft`/`review` envelopes are fully editable; nothing is
  editable after send except voiding.
* **Scheduled send & auto-reminders** — the envelope policy can schedule a future
  send, a reminder cadence, and an expiration, all handled without caller
  involvement.

## After completion

* **Signed PDF** — the original with all signatures, values, and completion
  stamps embedded.
* **Audit certificate** — the companion PDF documenting the evidentiary record.
* **Structured extraction** — on request, Atlas extracts the contract's
  substantive terms (parties, dates, amounts, renewal, governing law) as
  structured data, optionally delivered by webhook.
* **Verification** — a public surface to confirm a signed document's integrity.

<Tip>
  Track lifecycle transitions with [webhooks](/guides/webhooks) rather than polling — every
  transition above emits an event.
</Tip>