View, Add, or Edit Field Instructions

Sometimes forms are confusing to fill out for signers or witnesses, and they need a little help with what to type in fields on your documents. Add instructions to fields while you're preparing and tagging documents to help the recipients understand how you would like the fields to be completed.

Field instructions that are added to templates will appear in all future uses of that template so you don't have to keep adding the same instructions for new transactions. Learn more about document templates here.

Contents

• Who can add instructions
• Who sees instructions
  • Field instructions for signers
  • Field instructions for notaries
• Add instructions to a field
• Edit or delete field instructions

Who can add instructions

Anyone with access to create transactions and add documents or document templates can add instructions to fields, including:

• Business owners, admins, or team members
• Real estate owners, admins, or team members
• In-house notaries (IHNs) 
• Notaries sourcing transactions (NSTs)

Business and real estate users can also add instructions to fields via API. 

Who sees instructions

Field instructions will only be visible to the user to which the field applies.

• Signers can see instructions for signer fields.
• Witnesses can see instructions for witness fields.
• Notaries can see instructions for signer, witness, and notary fields.

A lowercase i appears next to or inside fields with instructions. See the examples below for how instructions may appear for different users and devices.

Field instructions for signers

On a computer

1. Hover your cursor over the field to read the instructions.

On a mobile device

1. Tap the field.
2. Review the instructions.
3. Tap I understand. 
4. Fulfill the field as instructed. 

Field instructions for notaries

Notaries see field instructions for signers, witnesses, and themselves, whereas signers and witnesses only see their own instructions. 

For notaries, fields with instructions have a lowercase i next to the field.

Add, edit, or delete field instructions

Field instructions can be added to documents on transactions, document templates, and through our APIs. 

Limitations

Field instructions:

• Are not compatible with white text tagging.
• Have a 500-character limit.
• Can only be used on fields that get filled out by signers, witnesses, or notaries (such as "Fill in here" fields).
• Cannot be added to checkmarks or text fields that have already been filled out.
• Cannot be added by the notary or signer during a meeting.

Add instructions to a field

Add instructions to a field when you're preparing or editing the fields on a document or template.

1. Click the field to which you'd like to add instructions.
2. Type the instructions in the text box on the right under Field instructions.
3. Click Save.

Edit or delete field instructions

Edit or delete field instructions when you're tagging a document or template.

To edit the instructions:

1. Click Edit.
2. Type new text.
3. Click Save.

To delete the instructions:

1. Click Edit.
2. Delete the text.
3. Click Save.