What is a signing request?
A signing request is a document that our operations team has prepared and sent to you for a hand signature. It appears under Signing in the portal and in your email, with the document name, the order it belongs to, any instructions from our team, a due date and a return mode. The return mode tells you whether a scan is enough or whether we also need the signed original on paper.
Signing requests sit alongside the legal notices that you draft yourself. For a notice, the same steps are built into the notice workspace, under Sign and stamp, after the customer has approved the draft. Everything else, such as an agreement or an affidavit that we prepare for you, arrives as a signing request.
Do you need a digital signature or a DSC?
No. Lawyer partners on StampMitra sign in wet ink. The portal does not ask for a Digital Signature Certificate, does not ask you to install signing software and does not check for digital signatures in your file. If you hold a DSC for your own practice, that is your choice and it is not used here. What matters is a wet-ink signature and the stamp or stamp paper that the document needs.
What are the steps from document to done?
- 1Download the document
Open the request under Signing and download the document. The download link works once and expires after a few minutes, so open it when you are ready to print.
- 2Print it, sign and stamp it by hand
Print the document, read the instructions from our team and sign and stamp it by hand, on every page where it is needed. Use the stamp paper or e-stamp that the case calls for.
- 3Scan and upload
Scan every signed and stamped page and upload the files in page order. PDF, JPG and PNG files are accepted, up to 25 MB each, and you can add a short note for our team.
- 4Wait for the review
Our team checks the scan. You are emailed when it is accepted or when it is rejected with a reason, in which case you scan again and upload a new copy.
- 5Courier the original when asked
If the request says scan, then courier the original, send the signed paper original to the named party and enter the courier name, consignment number and dispatch date in the portal.
How do you sign and stamp correctly?
Read the instructions on the request before you print. They say where to sign, whether every page needs a signature or initials, and what stamp or stamp paper is expected. Stamp rules differ between states and between document types, so the instructions are the first place to look, and our team is the second. Write to the partner desk if something is unclear rather than guessing.
- Print on the paper size the instructions ask for and keep the pages in order
- Sign in ink, in the places marked, with the name exactly as it appears on your enrolment
- Apply the stamp or attach the stamp paper before you scan, so that it appears in the scan
- Do not alter the wording of the document; if something looks wrong, tell our team
How should you scan and upload?
A clean scan is the difference between a quick acceptance and a second round. Use a flatbed scanner or a scanning app, make sure every edge of the page is visible and the signature and stamp are readable, and check the file before you upload it.
- Upload PDF, JPG or PNG files, up to 25 MB each
- Upload one file for each page, or one PDF for all pages, and put them in order
- Use the thumbnails in the portal to check each page and move a page up or down
- Add a note if something needs explaining, such as a page that carries two stamps
Every uploaded file is scanned for malware and stored with a version number, so a second upload never overwrites the first one without a trace.
What happens if your scan is rejected?
Our team reviews each upload. If a page is cut off, the stamp is missing or a signature is unclear, the request goes back to you with the reason shown at the top. Nothing is lost: sign or scan again as needed and upload the new scan. You can do this as many times as it takes, and you are emailed each time our team decides.
Once the scan is accepted, a request that only needs the scan is complete. A request that needs the original moves on to the courier step.
When do you courier the original?
Only when the request says so. After we accept your scan, the request shows the party the original should go to and their address. Send the hand-signed original by courier and record three things in the portal: the courier name, the consignment number and the dispatch date. You can add a photo of the courier receipt as well.
Keep your copy of the receipt until the request is marked complete. When the party receives the original, our team marks it received and the request moves to Done. The courier costs and who bears them are set out in your agreement: [Courier cost terms].
What does StampMitra keep on record?
The portal keeps the document we sent you, each scan you uploaded with its version, the decision on each upload, and the courier details, all against the same request. That gives you and our team a factual answer to what was sent, signed and posted, and when. It is the same principle as the audit trail described on the trust and security page.