---
id: KB-CO-019
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/consigne/how-long-signing-really-takes
idioma: en
categoria: consigne
subcategoria: empezar
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CO-010, KB-CO-015]
citadoPor: [KB-PS-007]
---

# How long signing really takes

_Signing takes a minute. Getting someone to sign takes as long as they take to open the email, which is not a technical problem._

**Responde a:** how long does an electronic signature take · waiting two days for a signature · how to speed up getting signed · the client is not signing what do I do

The question always comes before the first send, and usually carries an expectation that is either too optimistic or too gloomy. The honest answer has two very different parts: the act of signing is instant; what takes time is everything else.

## Where the time actually goes

| Stage | How long it tends to take | What it depends on |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Preparing and sending | Minutes | You |
| Them opening it | Minutes to days | Their day, not the tool |
| Signing once opened | A minute | Whether it is clear what to do |
| With several signers | As long as the slowest | How the order is arranged |
| If someone must check it first | Days | Who else has to see it inside their company |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The surprising row is the last, and it explains most long waits: **the person receiving it often cannot decide alone**. They need their manager, their adviser or their department to look at it, and that step is invisible from outside — to you it looks like they never opened it. Asking «does anyone else need to see this first?» when you send saves more days than any reminder, because it turns chasing into helping.

## What actually shortens the wait

**En corto**

- Send to the person who can sign, not to whoever passed you the contact.
- Say in the message what it is and how long it takes: doubt weighs more than laziness.
- Make it signable from a phone with nothing to install.
- And do not send five documents at once when one moves things along.

> [!WARNING]
> A calendar detail almost nobody accounts for: **what goes out on Friday afternoon gets signed on Monday or Tuesday**. Not from indifference, but because Friday's email is read on Monday with forty others in front of it. If your date is tight, the day you send matters nearly as much as the reminder, and Tuesday morning outperforms any later chasing.

## When it is worth worrying

1. **If it has not been opened in two days** — It is usually the email, not the person: check the address.
2. **If it was opened and not signed** — There is a doubt or a missing approver: a short call settles it.
3. **If the turn is stuck on the second signer** — Check whether the first one told them, or nobody did.

> [!NOTE]
> Signing speed is not decided by the technology: it is decided by how easy it is to understand what is being signed and who has to see it first. Everything else is minutes.

**How many reminders are worth sending?**

Few and spaced out; past the third they stop working.

**Is signing from a phone slower?**

The opposite: it is what shortens the wait most.

**Can I tell whether they opened it?**

Yes, and that is exactly what tells you whether the problem is the email or the decision.

## Ejemplos

**A company waits four days for a signature and assumes the client is not interested.**

- Asks whether anyone else must see it first and sends to the person who decides

→ It is signed that afternoon: the delay was an internal review nobody had mentioned.

**Time is measured from when the document is opened.**

- Counts from when it is sent

→ The figure reflects the real wait.

**It is sent Friday afternoon and counted as a delay.**

- Schedules sends within working hours

→ The figure stops penalising the signer.

**One particular signer always takes weeks.**

- Talks to them or changes contact

→ The cause is addressed rather than the average.

**Times are compared across very different documents.**

- Separates by document type

→ The comparison makes sense.

**It is measured and nothing changes.**

- Adjusts reminders using the figure

→ The indicator supports a decision.