What agents should own
- Pulling the right template from CRM stage
- Placing fields and routing sequential or parallel signers
- Sending reminders and escalating stalled envelopes
- Polling status and writing outcomes back to the system of record
All of that can run under scoped API keys with an append-only log that labels the actor as an agent credential.
What must stay human
The affirmative act of signing — intent, consent, and attribution to a person — should not be blurred. If security review cannot tell machine preparation from human signature, the integration stalls. Design the workflow so agent keys can create and send envelopes, while the signing ceremony remains a human checkpoint with an exportable certificate of completion.
The legal baseline (and where to read more)
For most commercial agreements, electronic signatures are binding when intent, consent, attribution, and record integrity are met. For a clear, jurisdiction-aware explainer — ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS, and APAC equivalents, plus wet-ink exceptions — see SumoSign’s informational guide, Are Electronic Signatures Legally Binding?
On the agent-specific question of who may complete a signature, their companion post Can AI Agents Legally Sign Contracts? is useful briefing material for security and counsel. For Bear’s broader operations checklist on CRM triggers and multi-party routing, see Automating Contract Workflows.
Evidence to keep for every envelope
- Append-only audit trail with actor type (human, API key, recipient, system)
- Timestamps, IP / device metadata where appropriate
- Explicit consent and intent events
- Certificate of completion export counsel can archive with the PDF
Have a sample export ready before the first security review. The legal question should take one slide; the rest of the conversation is whether your process meets the evidence standard.
Related reading in this series