How to Merge PDFs Before Sending for Signature

There are a few ways to do this, and most of them are slower than they need to be. Here's the version that respects your time.

Step-by-step: Merge PDFs Before Sending for Signature

1. Open your document — in DottiSign or your preferred tool — both work, the steps are similar
2. Choose your action — decide whether you're signing yourself or sending to someone else
3. Place fields if needed — drag signature, date, or text fields onto the document
4. Add recipients if sending — name plus email; recipient gets a unique signing link
5. Set the signing order — parallel for simple cases, sequential when order matters
6. Send or sign — if sending, recipients receive an email with their link; if self-signing, sign and download
7. Save the result — the signed PDF and audit trail go to your records folder

If something goes wrong

• Recipient says they didn't get the email: check spam, then resend; some corporate filters block first-time senders
• Document looks distorted on mobile: check that you used a standard PDF viewer to verify, not a thumbnail
• Signature appears in wrong location: field positioning is by absolute coordinates — re-place if needed
• Can't open the signed PDF: older Adobe Reader versions sometimes flag newer signatures; update to current

Other ways to do it

• Adobe Acrobat — works for self-signing but requires a paid subscription
• macOS Preview — fine for self-signing, no audit trail
• DottiSign — recommended for sending to others; free tier covers casual use
• Print and scan — slowest option but sometimes necessary for documents that won't render correctly digitally

If you want the simple version of this — upload, drag, sign — DottiSign handles it without the monthly bill.