SharePoint approval vs. e-signature: is your document actually signed?

Use SharePoint modern approval when colleagues need to accept a document internally. Use content approval when the question is whether readers can see an approved library item. Use an e-signature request when the vendor and your company need to sign. Each produces a different record; an Approved label alone cannot tell you whether a contract was signed. Modern approvals · Content approval · eSignature

Control	Question it answers	Record to retrieve
Modern approval	Did the requested people approve this file or item?	The decision and its history in Approval details or Teams Approvals
Content approval	Is this library item approved for readers under the library’s settings?	The item’s content approval status and the library’s visibility settings
E-signature	Have all requested signers signed?	The request status and, when completed, the signed document

Decide what “approved” means

Modern approvals default to approval by any one approver; the requester can require everyone instead. The request does not grant file access. Check that both managers can open the version they should review.

For a vendor agreement, make the decision specific: “Approve the payment and scope terms in this exact version for signature.” Record a separate outcome such as “authorized to send.” If the file changes after that decision, ask for renewed review of the revised version. SharePoint cancels an approval in progress when the saved file changes, and metadata changes can warn of a status reset.

Library approval columns reflect the latest activity; Teams Approvals has the full history. Microsoft says modern approvals and content approval are not integrated.

Content approval controls whether a library item is approved for readers. In Library settings, open Versioning settings, set Require content approval for submitted items? to Yes, and choose Draft Item Security. Allowing readers to see drafts can expose items regardless of approval state. Existing items are automatically approved when the feature is enabled; newly added items remain pending until approved.

A contract already in the library could acquire Approved status without anyone reviewing its terms. Retrieve a separate internal decision if your process requires one. If staff do not need a draft published for reading, choose suitable file permissions and omit this extra publication step from the contract process.

An illustrative two-manager handoff

Suppose a company has a proposed vendor contract. Two managers must accept the payment and scope terms before it goes out. The vendor and a company representative must then sign. Staff may eventually need to read the approved document.

This is a proposed workflow, not a tested SharePoint run:

1. Identify the contract version the managers will review. Confirm both managers have access to that file, and request a modern approval that requires all approvers.
2. Preserve their internal decision against that version. If the terms change, obtain a new decision on the revision before sending it for signature.
3. Identify the version to sign, each signer’s name, email address, and role. In the signing request, place a required signature field for both the vendor and company representative.
4. If staff need the document released through the library’s content approval process, handle that reader visibility decision under the library’s settings. Keep it separate from the managers’ acceptance of terms.

While signatures are pending, a useful handoff record could say:

Internal decision: both managers approved version [version] for sending. Signing request: [provider/request reference], In progress. Executed copy: not yet available.

Fill the brackets with real values. This describes a proposed handoff; it is not a product-generated status or sample approval ID. When signing reaches Completed, add the actual signed file location. Preserve the managers’ earlier decision as a separate record.

If the vendor changes the payment terms before signing, compare the revision with the version managers accepted and route changed terms back for a decision. A manager who approved the wording may also be different from the person authorized to sign. Confirm both roles before assigning signature fields.

What a native PDF signing request produces

Microsoft’s eSignature service supports PDFs and Word documents and uses simple electronic signatures. Whether those fit a particular transaction depends on its requirements. Availability is worldwide except Indonesia through Microsoft’s public cloud. Word is available on the Microsoft 365 Beta, Current and Monthly Enterprise Channels.

For a native PDF request, Microsoft’s sending instructions start with an unencrypted PDF opened in the SharePoint library viewer. The sender selects the pen icon, adds up to 10 internal or external recipients, optionally sets a signing order, and places fields. Each recipient needs at least one required signature field. The document can have up to 50 fields in total. Before sending, check the document, recipients, title, message and field placement against the version managers accepted. A familiar filename is insufficient if someone replaced its contents.

In progress is not a signed contract. Under Microsoft’s request status guidance, Completed means all recipients have signed. For a completed native request, retrieve the final PDF from the originating folder and inspect its appended audit trail, which includes timestamps and signatures. The signed filename includes the original name, “signed,” and a date and time.

Adobe Acrobat Sign and Docusign are also available as third-party PDF providers. Their signing flow moves to the provider after sign-in. A provider-signed copy can return to the originating folder; Microsoft documents an Apps/Signed documents/provider fallback. That copy-back applies to the original document initiated from SharePoint, not extra documents uploaded at the provider. A canceled or declined request produces no signed copy. Provider workflow · Saved documents

Why signing may be unavailable

An administrator must enable eSignature with Azure pay-as-you-go billing and choose allowed sites and providers. Word desktop also needs the app setting and applicable Office policy. Ask your administrator about these controls if the command is missing. Enabling modern approvals does not complete signing setup. Admin setup

If an external signer cannot proceed, the setup guidance says new external recipients require Entra B2B and guest sharing. Conditional Access or site sensitivity labels may block a recipient. Microsoft’s recipient guidance says a signer needs no SharePoint license or Microsoft account, but guest authentication policies still apply.

If a completed native PDF does not appear where expected, check whether the sender retained the necessary access and whether the originating folder still exists. Revoked access or a deleted folder can prevent the final PDF from being saved there. For a third-party request, check the documented fallback folder as well as the originating folder.

Is a SharePoint Approved document signed?

No. First identify which approval control produced that status. Modern approval records a requested decision; content approval records the library item’s approval state for readers. Retrieve the completed signing request and signed copy to establish the signing outcome.

Does a Microsoft 365 subscription include native signing requests?

Do not assume so. An administrator must enable the service with Azure pay-as-you-go billing. Microsoft’s published meter is $2 per electronic signature request created, with up to 10 recipients per request. Twenty requests would be $40 under that meter. Account for requests created when budgeting revisions and resends. Third-party providers have separate contract costs: Microsoft says it does not charge for using those providers through this integration, even though pay-as-you-go setup is required. That does not make an Adobe or Docusign subscription free. Billing setup

Source note: This article uses the linked Microsoft documentation checked on October 7, 2026. The two-manager case is illustrative; no paid tenant or signing request was tested for this article.