How to Handle Out-of-Office Responses in Acrobat Sign Workflows
Question details
Understanding the impact of out-of-office auto-replies on Acrobat Sign workflows and how to manage pending signature requests.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Sign
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- A document recipient is unavailable, and an automated out-of-office email response is received during a signature workflow.
- Observed behavior
- The automated reply does not redirect or complete the request; the document remains in a pending state until signed, declined, or expired.
Ensure you have sender or account administrator permissions in Adobe Acrobat Sign to modify active agreements or reassign recipients.
Replace or Delegate the Recipient in Acrobat Sign
Use this method to manually route the pending document to an alternative signer while the original recipient is away.
When an out-of-office reply is triggered, Adobe Acrobat Sign does not automatically forward the signature request. To prevent workflow delays, the sender must actively replace the recipient or delegate the signing rights to an available party.
Log in to your Acrobat Sign account and navigate to the 'Manage' tab at the top of the interface.
Select the 'In Progress' filter to view your pending agreements, then click on the specific document that received the out-of-office reply.
In the right-hand details pane under the 'Recipients' section, hover over the unavailable recipient's name to reveal action icons.
Select 'Replace Recipient' (or 'Delegate') from the action menu. Enter the new signer's email address, provide a brief message explaining the change, and confirm the action.
Cancel and Resend the Agreement
If replacing the recipient isn't possible due to workflow restrictions or strict routing rules, cancel the original request and issue a new one.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does an out-of-office reply count as a declined signature in Acrobat Sign?
No, an auto-reply does not decline or cancel the agreement. The document simply remains in an 'Out for Signature' status until it is manually addressed by the sender or the original recipient logs in to process it.
Can I automate delegating signatures when I am out of office?
Yes, Acrobat Sign allows users to set up auto-delegation rules in their personal profile preferences. Incoming requests will be automatically routed to a designated backup signer during your specified absence.
What happens if a pending signature request expires before the recipient returns?
If the agreement has a predefined expiration date and is not signed in time, the workflow is automatically canceled by the system. The sender will need to initiate a new request once the recipient is available.
