How to export your data from signNow

How to export your data from signNow before the contract ends

Signed documents, audit history and templates can only be pulled out of signNow through the export paths signNow documents, and this section does not assume any particular export limit, file format or bundling option. Confirm each path against signNow's current API documentation and with your account team before you rely on it. You need three outputs: the signed files, evidence of who signed and when, and editable templates. Start an inventory now. Count your document groups, flag anything still in progress, and note which agreements fall under the exceptions in the ESIGN Act, such as wills or court documents, since those may need separate review. Ask signNow in writing what each export returns before your renewal date.

Treat each signed PDF and its audit record as one unit. The signed file shows the content of the agreement, but the record of invitations, views, signatures and completion is what supports a question about who signed and when. If signNow's export returns the history with the document, keep the two together in your storage, in a folder structure keyed to your own contract IDs. If it returns them separately, confirm how they can be matched later. For each file, record a checksum and add a manifest listing the file name, document ID, signer email addresses and completion date. The manifest lets you show that the archive is complete and unchanged, so store it alongside the files.

Templates need a separate pass. Export each template's fields, recipient roles, signing order and any merge data definitions, then test a sample of each against the new tool before the old account closes. Expect to rebuild fields in the target platform and check every one against the original, since Documenso, DocuSeal and OpenSign each have their own template and field model. Keep at least one signed sample from each template family for side-by-side comparison. Set a cutoff date after which no new sends go out from signNow, and confirm with signNow what remains accessible after cancellation and for how long.

Which signNow data can be exported and in what format

This table lists each category of signNow data you may need to move, the method most likely to retrieve it, and the format you should expect. Use it to plan which exports you run yourself and which you request from signNow support. Every limit in the last column must be confirmed in signNow's current API reference and account terms before you rely on it.

Data type	Export method	Likely format	Confirm before you start
Signed documents	API download or web interface, one document at a time	PDF of the completed file	Maximum file size, page count and whether signed copies are returned with the original upload
Completed document groups	API download of the group as a bundle	ZIP archive of PDFs, or a merged PDF if the option is offered	Whether bundles include all member documents and how large a single download can be
Audit history	API or web interface, attached to the document or group	Event log or audit trail, often PDF or JSON	Which events are recorded, timestamp time zone, and whether the trail is included in a bundle
Completion certificates	Web interface or API, where the account offers it	PDF certificate per completed document	Whether certificates are generated for every envelope type and how they are named in exports
Templates	Web interface export or request to signNow support	Usually PDF masters with field layout described separately	Whether field definitions, roles and routing rules export, or only the base file
Signer and user records	Request to signNow support or account-level export	CSV or support-supplied file	Which personal fields are included and how your data processing terms cover the request
Account settings and branding	Web interface screenshots or support request	Mostly manual notes, not a portable file	Branding assets, notification settings and integration keys must be recorded by hand
Retention and deletion status	Account terms and support confirmation	Written confirmation, not a data file	How long documents remain available after a plan ends or an account closes

What does not carry over from signNow and how to rebuild it

A signed PDF and its history are only part of what a signNow account holds. Routing logic, integrations, vendor-issued evidence and account settings usually sit in the platform rather than in the documents, so they need a separate inventory. Confirm each item with signNow before assuming it cannot be exported.

Signing workflow logic and routing

Signing order, role assignments, reminder timing and conditional routing usually live in template settings, not in the signed PDF. Export a sample of each template's configuration and record the signing order, signer roles and expiry rules by hand. In the new tool, rebuild each template and run one test envelope per workflow before you retire the old one. Ask signNow whether templates or workflow definitions can be exported in any structured form.

Integrations and webhooks

Connections to CRM records, storage folders, or internal systems that trigger on a signature event are configured in signNow and will stop when the account closes. Inventory every API key, webhook endpoint and connected app, and note which system depends on each. Plan the cutover so the new tool sends events to the same endpoints, or so the dependent system is updated before signNow is switched off. Confirm the list with your signNow administrator, since some connections are only visible in admin consoles.

Vendor certificate and seal

Some signature evidence depends on the vendor's own signing certificate or seal applied to the completed file, and that certificate does not move with the PDF. Documents signed in a new tool will carry that tool's certificate, so older and newer files will show different issuers. Keep the exported completion documents alongside the signed PDFs and state in your records which signing certificate applied to which period. Ask signNow what evidence it embeds in the file itself and what it provides only through its own portal.

Identity and verification records

Records of how a signer was verified, such as one-time codes, identity checks or access controls, may exist only in signNow's platform logs. A signer's name and email in the audit trail do not prove how that person was authenticated. Export the audit trail for each envelope and attach it as a file, and add a register that records who verified each signer and by what method. Ask signNow which verification events are included in exports and for how long its platform keeps them.

Branding and account settings

Company logos, email wording, sender names, custom domains, user roles and group permissions are account-level settings that rarely appear in a document export. Without them, the new tool sends notices that look different and may grant access to the wrong people. Write down each setting from the signNow admin console, then configure the same branding, roles and sender identities in the new platform. Check the outgoing email domain and its authentication records before the first live send.

Unsent drafts and in-flight envelopes

Drafts that were never sent and envelopes waiting on a signer are often not included in a completed-documents export. Pull a list of all open and draft items, decide for each whether to finish it in signNow, cancel it or recreate it in the new tool, and tell the counterparties which path applies. Do not assume that a status report captures every draft. Confirm with signNow how in-progress envelopes are handled during account closure.

Why the audit trail and completion evidence must survive the move

The ESIGN Act provides that an electronic signature, contract or record may not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability solely because it is electronic, but the export must still prove who signed, what they signed and when. A signed PDF with its signature image is only the visible result. The evidence behind it sits in the signNow audit history and completion record for each document, and a court or counterparty may ask for that record years later. Before you start the export, confirm with your legal counsel which record types your organization signs and what proof each one needs. The ESIGN Act is not a blanket rule: it excludes records governed by laws on wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, certain state family law matters such as adoption and divorce, most of the Uniform Commercial Code, and court orders and official court documents, among other exceptions (see 15 U.S.C. 7003). Those records need their own handling, usually paper originals or a separate process agreed with counsel, and they should be tagged in your inventory before any bulk download.

If your agreements are signed in or into the EU, the eIDAS levels matter more than the file format. The European Commission describes simple, advanced (AdES) and qualified (QES) electronic signatures. An advanced signature must let the signatory keep control and make later changes detectable. A qualified signature is an advanced signature created by a qualified signature creation device and based on a qualified certificate issued by a qualified trust service provider listed in a national Trusted List (see the European Commission eSignature FAQ). The practical consequence is that a PDF export alone may not carry the proof the original signature relied on. Ask signNow, in writing, which level and certificate chain applied to each document type, and whether the completion certificate and signed package can be downloaded separately from the visible PDF.

Plan the export around evidence, not files. For each document group, keep the original signed PDF, the audit trail or history, the completion certificate and the signer metadata together, and record where each piece is stored. Check that your new platform can hold equivalent evidence before you retire the old account: Documenso, for example, requires you to configure a signing certificate for digital signatures, and OpenSign records activity logs and completion certificates of its own. Where the new tool produces different evidence, document the difference and decide with counsel whether older documents need to stay in signNow under a retained read-only archive until retention periods expire. Confirm the retention periods with your legal and records teams rather than assuming them.

Where each signNow export lands in Documenso, DocuSeal or OpenSign

Documenso runs on PostgreSQL and needs a signing certificate of your own before it can digitally sign documents. Exported signed PDFs can be stored as documents in the instance, but the signatures inside those files came from signNow's certificate, so they are not re-signed by Documenso. Plan for the completed PDFs to act as the record of the signing event, and keep the signNow completion certificate alongside them.

Signed files: Store the merged or individual PDFs as archive copies. Documents created in Documenso get fresh Documenso signatures.
Signing certificate: Generate a self-signed .p12 with OpenSSL or set up signing through Google Cloud KMS before go-live, and confirm which one your records policy accepts.
Templates: Rebuild each signNow template in Documenso by hand, including field placement, recipient roles and signing order.
Audit history: Keep the exported history as separate files. Do not assume it is reproduced inside Documenso's own audit records.
Test before cutover: Send a test document end to end, open a completed file, and verify the certificate and signer details against your retained signNow exports.

Confirm with your legal and records owners whether a re-signed archive copy or the original signNow file is the controlling record.

DocuSeal stores data in SQLite by default, with PostgreSQL or MySQL available through the DATABASE_URL variable. For a migration, choose the database before importing anything, because moving between engines later adds work. DocuSeal includes PDF signature verification and an API and webhooks, which are the practical routes for loading documents and recipient data programmatically.

Database choice: Set DATABASE_URL to PostgreSQL or MySQL for production and avoid the SQLite default for a multi-user archive.
Importable content: Signed PDFs, recipient details and submission metadata can be loaded through the API. Confirm which fields your export format maps to.
Templates: Rebuild templates in the PDF field builder. Conditional fields and formulas are Pro features, so check which ones your templates use.
Bulk and SSO features: Bulk send from CSV or XLSX and SSO with SAML are listed as Pro features. If your signNow workflows depend on them, budget for a Pro license.
Test before cutover: Run signature verification on imported PDFs, confirm the API import reproduces document counts and names, and check webhook delivery to your downstream systems.

Confirm with DocuSeal's current documentation which audit fields are retained on import, because the signNow audit trail should be kept as its own archive.

Sequence for a complete signNow data export

This sequence moves signed documents, audit history, completion certificates and templates out of signNow into an archive you control, with checks that show the archive matches the source before access ends. Each step leaves evidence you can hand to legal, compliance or the new platform team.

Inventory document groups and templates
Start by listing every document group, template and folder that holds records you need to keep, with its owner, date range and approximate document count taken from the signNow dashboard. Record which groups hold executed agreements, which hold drafts or abandoned envelopes, and which fall under retention rules that legal has set. The output is a signed inventory sheet that legal and the business owners approve before any download starts, so you know what the export must cover.
Confirm API access and scope with signNow
Ask your signNow administrator to generate API credentials for a dedicated export user with read-only access to the account, and confirm with signNow in writing which endpoints and document group objects that user can read, including whether audit history and completion certificates are included in downloads. Test the credentials against one known document group. The evidence is a short written confirmation from signNow and a test download that returns the expected file and metadata.
Export signed files with audit history in batches
Download document groups in batches through the API, either as ZIP archives or as merged PDFs with the audit history attached, and keep each batch small enough to retry without repeating the whole export. Log the batch name, document group ID, file count and time of each run in an export register. The register and the raw batch files are the primary evidence that the signed records left signNow in a known state.
Save completion certificates alongside each file
For every executed document, store the completion certificate and audit trail next to the signed PDF under the same identifier, so the signer names, timestamps and signing events stay bound to the agreement they describe. Where signNow returns the certificate inside the merged PDF, confirm that it is present rather than assuming it. The output is a folder structure where each agreement has its signed file and its certificate, and a list of any documents that arrived without one.
Export templates and their field definitions
Export each template you intend to rebuild, recording its name, the roles it defines, every field with its type, position, required flag and default value, and any routing order. Keep a copy of the template's sample or source PDF with these definitions. Compare the field list against the signNow template editor to confirm nothing is missing. The output is a template specification file per template that your team can use to recreate it in Documenso, DocuSeal or OpenSign.
Store the archive with checksums in your own location
Move the batches, certificates and template specifications into storage your organization controls, such as an encrypted object store or file server inside your own network, with access restricted to named roles. Generate a SHA-256 checksum for every file and save the manifest separately from the archive. Store a second copy in a different location as your recovery copy. The manifest and the access list are the evidence that the archive is complete and that nobody has changed it since it was written.
Verify a sample against the source
Select a random sample of executed documents across different groups and years, and compare each one with the signNow original on page count, signer names, signing timestamps and the presence of the completion certificate. Record every mismatch and rerun the export for those items before continuing. Keep the sample list, the comparison sheet and the reviewer's sign-off, because they show how the archive was checked and by whom.
Freeze a final export before access ends
Before signNow access is removed or the subscription ends, run one final export of every group that changed since the first batch, compare the new files against the manifest, and mark the export as frozen in the register. Confirm in writing that no further documents will be created in signNow under the old account. The frozen manifest, the final register entry and the closure note from the administrator are the evidence that the export is complete.

Contract terms to plan before renewal or termination

The export itself is the easy part. Before you give notice, confirm in writing what your signNow contract allows, how long you keep access, and what happens to signer data afterward. Each card below is a term to pin down so the export runs inside a window you can actually use.

Notice period and access end date

Find the notice period, the date it runs from, and the exact date your account and API access stop. The access end date sets the deadline for every download, so count backward from it. Ask signNow to confirm the date in writing, including whether API keys stop working at the same moment as the web login. Check the current terms rather than assume they match an earlier agreement.

Export window after termination

Ask whether you keep read-only access or a download window after the contract ends, and for how long. Some agreements close the account at termination with no grace period. If there is a window, script the bulk download to run inside it, then verify the file count against your document list before the window closes.

Final export support and cost

Confirm whether signNow offers a final bulk export, a data copy on request, or only self-service API downloads. Ask whether either option carries a fee, what it covers, and whether audit history is included with each document. Get the answer in writing, since support teams often describe these options differently from the contract.

Signer data retention and deletion

Ask how long signNow keeps signed documents, signer names, email addresses and IP-based audit entries after termination, and when it deletes them. Find out whether deletion is automatic or requested, and whether you can obtain a deletion confirmation. Your own retention schedule, not the vendor default, should decide how long you keep copies.

Legal holds on existing documents

Identify any documents under a litigation hold, regulatory retention rule or audit request before you delete anything from signNow. A legal hold usually applies to the record and its audit trail together, so export both. Ask whether signNow will preserve an account snapshot while a hold is active, and who on your side approves deletion.

Parallel run timeline

Plan the overlap period in which both signNow and the new tool accept signatures. Set the cutover date, the date the last new envelope goes out in signNow, and the date the final export is verified. Running both tools in parallel gives signers and template owners time to move, but it also means two sets of invites and two audit trails to reconcile.

Questions buyers ask before exporting from signNow

How much effort does a full export from signNow take?

The effort depends on how much material you hold and how deep the history goes, so it is not a fixed amount of work. The main drivers are the number of signed documents, the number of templates that must be rebuilt, how far back the audit history goes, and how completion certificates are stored and checked. A team with a few hundred documents in a single group has a very different job from one with years of multi-signer agreements across several business units. Before you commit to a plan, inventory document groups, templates and date ranges, then test a small batch end to end so you can measure the real workload in your own environment.

Can our team export signNow data without outside help?

Yes, a capable internal team can usually run the export, provided it has the right access and time to verify the results. The export runs through signNow's API, so someone must be comfortable authenticating, paging through document groups, downloading ZIP or merged PDF files, and scripting the repetitive steps. The harder part is confirming that every file, audit record and certificate arrived intact and matches its source. If your staff lack API experience or cannot dedicate time to testing and reconciliation, a fixed-scope engagement with an implementation partner can cover that work, with deliverables agreed in writing before it starts.

What does the export need from our team?

The export needs four things from your team: working API access to your signNow account, an administrator who can run and maintain scripts, a legal reviewer who decides which records must be kept, and a named owner who signs off on verification. API access should be confirmed with signNow before work starts, because your plan and account settings determine what is available. The legal reviewer matters because some records fall outside the federal e-signature rules, and retention periods come from your own obligations. The verification owner should accept the export only after sampling documents and checking audit trails against the originals.

Does signNow charge for exporting our documents?

Confirm this in writing with signNow before you start, because the information needed to answer it was not available to us. Ask whether API access, bulk downloads, audit history retrieval and completion certificate downloads are included in your current plan or billed separately. Also ask whether any export limits, rate limits or retention windows apply after you cancel. Get the answers in writing, with the plan name and account identifier attached, so the export budget is not disputed later. Your contract may also specify how data is returned at termination, which should be read alongside the API terms.

How long does the signNow export process take?

The duration depends on document volume, how many document groups you must process, and how much parallel testing you run. A small account with a short history can be exported in a short window, while a large archive requires batching, retries and repeated verification passes. Plan for a test export, a full run and a reconciliation phase, and keep the signNow account active until verification is complete. Ask any implementation partner to state the duration in the written scope, with the assumptions about volume and the batches they will run, rather than accepting a generic timeline.

Are signed PDFs alone enough as evidence after leaving signNow?

Usually not. A signed PDF shows the final document, but evidence of who signed, when, and from where often sits in the audit trail and the completion certificate. Under the ESIGN Act, an electronic signature or record may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic, yet you still need to show how the record was created and kept. Under eIDAS, an advanced signature must let the signatory retain control and make later changes detectable, which depends on the signing metadata and certificate chain. Export the audit history, certificates and signer data alongside each PDF, and confirm with your legal counsel which evidence your jurisdiction and contracts require.

What should a written scope from an implementation partner include?

A written scope should name the source systems, the export method, and the exact deliverables you will receive. Ask for the document groups and date ranges covered, the format of each file, how audit history and completion certificates are attached, and how templates will be rebuilt in the target tool. The scope should also cover verification steps, sampling method, acceptance criteria, the owner who accepts results, and what happens to data during the work. Request a list of assumptions, exclusions and dependencies, such as API access and the legal review of retained records, so that the timeline and cost follow from defined work. DeployOpen agrees scope, deliverables and timelines in writing before work begins.

Which parts of the export are hardest to reproduce later?

The hardest parts to reproduce are the audit history, signer identifiers and the link between each completed document and its certificate. Once the source account closes or its retention window ends, rebuilding those records from memory or from the PDF alone is often not possible. Templates are easier to rebuild but still need field positions, routing order and signer roles checked against the originals. Prioritize exporting the evidence set first, verify it, then move to templates and workflows. Keep a hash or checksum record for each exported file so that future readers can confirm nothing changed after export.

How DeployOpen scopes, delivers and supports a signNow exit

DeployOpen plans and implements self-hosted open-source platforms inside the client's own infrastructure, so an export from signNow lands on servers the organization controls. We agree the export scope in writing before work starts, then document and hand over the results with the evidence the records team needs.

How we scope

Inventory the signNow document groups, signed PDFs, audit histories and templates that must move
Confirm which records fall under retention rules, legal holds or exclusions such as wills and court documents
Agree in writing which destination platform, Documenso, DocuSeal or OpenSign, receives each record type
Confirm with signNow and your legal team whether the export format meets your evidence needs

How we build

Script API-based downloads of document groups as ZIP files or merged PDFs with history attached
Set up the chosen self-hosted platform, including its database and signing certificate, in your environment
Rebuild templates in the new tool and test them against sample signing sessions before cutover
Check exported files against source counts, hashes and audit fields before any source data is retired

How we hand over

Deliver an export log listing every document group, its file count, and any records that failed to transfer
Document where completion certificates and audit trails are stored and how to retrieve them later
Provide a runbook for the self-hosted platform covering backups, upgrades and access control
Record the scope, decisions and acceptance checks so your auditors can review the migration

How we support

Fixed-scope engagements are agreed in writing, with deliverables and timelines set before work starts
Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as a retainer after handover
Confirm with your records and legal teams whether the exported evidence meets your retention requirements
Ask for a written quote that separates one-time migration work from recurring operations and support

How to export your data from signNow