Documenso lets you send documents for signature and collect them, the job of DocuSign or Adobe Sign, on infrastructure you control. Upload a PDF, place signature and date fields, add signers, and Documenso emails each one a signing link and assembles the signed result.

Features

• Signature workflows: multiple signers, signing order, and reminders by email
• Field placement: signatures, initials, dates, text, and checkboxes on the PDF
• Templates for documents you send repeatedly
• Digitally signed PDFs following the PAdES standard, so the final document shows it has not been altered since signing
• An API and webhooks for integrating signing into your own applications
• Multiple languages

Deployment

Documenso is a TypeScript application that needs a PostgreSQL database and an SMTP server to email signers. It supports Docker and Docker Compose, Kubernetes, and several hosting platforms. For signing, you provide a signing certificate (a .p12 file); the documentation covers generating one or using a certificate from a trusted provider. Put it behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS.

Email delivery matters: if signing invitations land in spam, the workflow fails. See why self-hosted email is hard and use a reliable SMTP relay. Our OpenSSL CSR guide covers certificate basics.

Legal note

Electronic signatures are legally recognised in most jurisdictions for most agreements, but the rules vary by country and document type. Some documents require specific signature types or witnessing. Check what applies to you before replacing an existing signing service for important contracts.

Alternatives

• DocuSeal: a similar open source signing platform
• OpenSign: another open source DocuSign alternative

License

GNU Affero General Public License v3.0.

Links

• Repository
• Website