Sending someone a blank form is the slowest possible way to collect a signature. They have to find a way to open it, work out which of the forty fields apply to them, fill in details you already have on file, print or fight with a viewer, sign, scan, and email it back — and roughly one in three of them will get a field wrong or never reply at all. The faster pattern is to fill in everything you already know, leave only what genuinely needs their input, and send the near-complete document as a link they can sign in a browser.
To send a prefilled form for signature, fill the fields you already know from a saved profile, leave the rest blank, then generate a share link instead of an attachment. The recipient opens it in any browser with no account, corrects anything wrong, signs, and the signed copy comes back to you automatically.
What does "prefilled" mean when you're sending a form to someone else?
It means the document arrives already populated with the facts on your side of the transaction: their name and address as you have them on file, the dates, the amounts, your business details, the reference or matter number. Prefilling is not the same as pre-populating a web form with URL parameters (the Google Forms trick), and it is not the same as autofilling your own browser. It's a finished document that only needs confirmation and a signature. Our guide to pre-populating forms covers the other meanings and where each applies.
Why is a link better than emailing the PDF?
An attachment puts the burden on the recipient's software. They may be on a phone with no PDF editor, they may open it in a viewer that won't let them type, and whatever they send back is a new file you now have to reconcile against the one you sent. A link removes all three problems: the document renders in the browser, the signature is captured in place, and there is exactly one authoritative copy. It also lets you see whether they opened it, which is the difference between chasing someone and knowing you don't need to yet.
What can the recipient change, and what should they not be able to change?
Good practice is to let them correct their own facts and nothing else. If you've written their middle initial wrong or an old address, they should be able to fix it — otherwise they'll refuse to sign and you're back to email. In Filly, the recipient can adjust the fields shown to them and those corrections come back to you as suggested edits alongside the signed document, so the changes are visible rather than silent. Terms, amounts, and the substance of the agreement stay as you sent them.
Which forms is this pattern best for?
- Waivers and releases — participant details prefilled from a registration list, one signature needed. Start from the liability waiver template.
- NDAs — company details, dates, and definitions are yours; only the counterparty signs. See the mutual NDA template.
- Client or patient intake — send back what you already hold so they confirm rather than retype.
- Authorisations and consent forms — the party details are known; the signature is the whole point.
- Contractor and vendor paperwork — engagement terms prefilled, the contractor supplies only what's genuinely theirs.
How do you keep a prefilled form honest?
Prefilling shifts a risk: because the document looks finished, people skim it. Three habits keep that from becoming a problem.
- Never prefill a field that expresses the other person's intent. Consent boxes, elections, and anything they're attesting to should be blank when it arrives.
- Show them what you prefilled. A recipient who can see and correct every populated field is agreeing to something; one who can only scroll past a locked block is not.
- Keep the source data clean. Prefilling from a stale profile propagates the stale value onto every future document — fix it once, at the profile, not on each form.
Does the recipient need an account?
They shouldn't, and with Filly they don't — the link opens the document for anyone who has it, and the signature is captured without a signup step. That matters more than it sounds: every account wall between you and a signature is a place where the process stops. The same applies in reverse when you're the one being asked to sign; see filling and e-signing a PDF without an account.
Frequently asked questions
How do I prefill the same form for twenty different people?
Fill it once per person from each saved client profile, or use batch fill to produce all the copies in one run. Batch fill is on Filly's paid plans (up to 5 recipients on Solo, up to 20 on Pro); the free plan fills one at a time.
Is an e-signature collected this way legally valid?
Electronic signatures are broadly recognised in the US under the ESIGN Act and UETA and in the EU under eIDAS, provided the signer intended to sign and consented to do business electronically. Some documents — wills, certain notarised instruments, some court filings — are excluded or have extra requirements, so check the rules for the specific document type rather than assuming.
What comes back to me after they sign?
The signed document, plus any corrections the recipient made to the fields, so you can update the stored profile if one of them was wrong.
Can I send a prefilled form on the free plan?
Yes — the free plan includes your first e-sign share, along with 10 forms, 5 saved clients, and 10 filled documents a month, no card required. Regular sending is on the paid plans from $19/month.
What if the form isn't a fillable PDF?
It still works. Flat PDFs, scans, and Word layouts have no interactive fields, so the AI detects where the answers belong from the document itself and places them there before you send.