Delivery by Legal Fiction (API)

Delivery by legal fiction handles the situation where you want to finalize a document even without the counterparty's signature. It works like a registered letter: once the invitation e-mail is delivered, a deadline starts running, and if the counterparty does nothing by the end of it, the document is considered delivered — the whole envelope is completed (sealed and possibly locked, just as after signing).

It's useful for documents that the counterparty doesn't have to actively sign — for example a notice of changes to terms and conditions, or in some cases HR documents. Whether delivery by legal fiction is appropriate for your case is something to consult with your legal department.

How to do it

Warning: delivery by legal fiction can only be used for documents with at most one counterparty.

In settings, enable presume_delivery; you can adjust the deadline with the presumed_delivery_days field (default 15 days, allowed range 1–90):

{
    "people": [
        { "is_proposer": true, "email": "vas@email.cz", "contract_role": "approve" },
        { "is_proposer": false, "email": "protistrana@email.cz", "contract_role": "sign",
          "first_name": "Jan", "last_name": "Novák", "person_type": "nature",
          "positions": [ { "x": 50, "y": 80, "page": 0 } ] }
    ],
    "settings": {
        "presume_delivery": true,
        "presumed_delivery_days": 5
    },
    "file": "uploaded_file_key"
}

How the length of the deadline is determined

The first value that is set is used, in this order:

1. presumed_delivery_days on the document (in the JSON above),
2. the workspace setting,
3. the default of 15 days.

How it runs in sequence: after the proposer's last signer signs, an invitation e-mail is sent to the counterparty — and the deadline runs from the delivery of this e-mail to their inbox; the default period is 15 days. If the counterparty signs or rejects the document in the meantime, the legal fiction does not apply — everything proceeds normally.

Warning: if the e-mail cannot be delivered to the counterparty, the deadline does not start running and the document is not closed by legal fiction.

You'll learn about the document's completion as usual — via webhook or by querying the document status.

Where to go next

• Delivery by legal fiction in the Signi app
• Document lifecycle
• JSON for creating a document — overview of all fields