The signature didn't go through

A signer tells you they signed, but the envelope is still showing as incomplete on your end. Here's how to diagnose and fix it.

First: check the envelope status

Open the envelope (in the room or on the Signatures page) and look at:

1. Overall envelope status — Draft, Awaiting signatures, Signed, Declined, Expired or Voided
2. Individual recipient statuses — Pending, Waiting, Viewed, Signed, Declined

Often the issue is visible here. Common mismatches:

"Viewed" but not "Signed"

Most common scenario. The signer opened the envelope, filled some fields, but closed the tab before confirming. They need to reopen and complete.

Fix:

1. Automatic reminders (if enabled on the envelope's Setup tab) send them a fresh email on the schedule you set.
2. Or ask them directly — in the room, or over whatever channel you already use — to open the widget and click Sign.
3. They click through, review, and confirm.

"Pending" but they swear they signed

They may be looking at an old signing link — perhaps from an earlier envelope that was voided, or a link for a different document.

Fix: verify they're looking at the current envelope's email. If unsure, have them open the room and click Sign on the signature widget.

"Signed" but you think it's not

Refresh the page. Status may have just updated and your browser is showing stale data.

Also check:

• The Signatures page — does the envelope appear under the Completed tab with the Signed badge?
• Your email inbox — did you receive the final sealed PDF?

If both say Signed: it went through. Done deal.

Sequential signing: stuck on one signer

With sequential signing, the next recipient isn't notified until the current one completes. If the current signer isn't acting, the others show as Waiting and it looks "stuck."

Fix:

• Nudge the current signer
• Or void the envelope and create a new one with parallel signing

Authentication failure

If a signer is on SMS code and the code isn't arriving, or ID verification is blocking them:

• For SMS code — confirm you entered the correct phone number on their card
• Ask them to try again; temporary delivery issues sometimes resolve themselves
• As a last resort, void and recreate the envelope with Email link (simpler, fewer failure modes)

You can't send at all

If Send for Signature is unavailable, the Send tab lists what's missing — Envelope title is required, Add at least one document, Add at least one signer or approver, Deadline must be in the future, or {name} has no signature field placed — each with a Fix link.

If you can't create envelopes at all, the Katalyz Signature module may not be active on your workspace. See Katalyz Signature.

Still stuck?

Contact contact@katalyz.co with:

• The envelope title and the room it lives in
• The signer's email
• A screenshot of what they're seeing

We can check the signing infrastructure and see exactly what happened.

Related articles

• A signer didn't receive the email
• Tracking signature status
• Voiding an envelope

Updated on: 01/10/2026