To mail a signed contract, first find out which paper the other side wants. Usually it's a printed copy of the fully signed PDF, which mails like any letter. Sometimes it's an original with ink signatures, which your executive signs by hand and you mail yourself. Then check the contract's notices clause: if it names Certified Mail or counts days from a postmark, that decides how the envelope travels. Last, file a record of what went out.
It's the loop assistants in hybrid offices know: print the pages that need a signature, get them signed, scan them back, then get a hard copy in the mail. When your executive signs electronically, the first three steps disappear.
Which paper does the other side want?#
The words in their email or in the contract tell you. "A signed copy for our files" or "a hard copy" means a printed copy of the signed PDF. "Original signature," "wet ink" or "two signed originals" means paper your executive signed by hand. If the request is vague, ask before anyone prints: one email now saves a second round of signatures.
What they asked for | What it means | How it gets there |
|---|---|---|
"A signed copy for our files" or "a hard copy" | A printed copy of the fully signed PDF, e-signed or scanned | Your printer and a stamp, or a print-and-mail service |
"Original signature," "wet ink," "two originals," or a notarized original | Paper signed (or notarized) by hand | You mail that paper: mailbox, post office counter or courier |
Notice "by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested" | A USPS service with a mailing receipt and a delivery record | A post office counter or a Certified Mail provider |
Notice that counts from "the postmark" or "deposit in the mail," on a tight date | The mailing event or date the clause specifies; confirm the required record | Use the method and record the clause requires; ask at the counter for a dated USPS receipt or postmark when needed |
Notice "by first-class mail, postage prepaid" | An ordinary First-Class letter | Any First-Class route, including a print-and-mail service |
The last three rows come from the notices clause (below).
When a printed copy of an e-signed contract is enough#
The federal ESIGN Act says that, for transactions in or affecting interstate commerce, a contract can't be denied legal effect solely because an electronic signature was used to form it (15 U.S.C. § 7001(a) (opens in new tab)). Two limits matter to you. The Act doesn't require anyone to agree to use or accept electronic signatures (§ 7001(b)(2) (opens in new tab)), and it doesn't cover some documents at all, including wills, adoption and divorce papers, and court orders and filings (§ 7003 (opens in new tab)).
So whether a printed copy will do is up to the people receiving it, and they usually say. A foundation that wants a paper copy of the signed grant agreement for its files, or a director who would rather read the signed written consent on paper, is asking for a copy. Mail them one.
Before you send the PDF, check three things:
- It's the completed version, downloaded after every party signed. Some e-signature tools can attach a certificate or audit page; it prints like any other page, so keep it only if the recipient wants it.
- It opens without a password. If the tool locked the file, download an unlocked copy; Postmarkr, for one, can't print a password-protected PDF.
- A cover letter sits on top: one page saying what's enclosed, the agreement's date and who to call.
Where Postmarkr fits
Postmarkr prints the signed PDF you upload and mails it USPS First-Class in a window envelope, behind an address page we add.
Price: $2.05 for a one-page black-and-white letter, all in; $2.26 for two pages; about 20 cents for each page after that. Color starts at $2.52.
Length: the 50-page limit includes the address page we add; the uploaded PDF must be no larger than 5 MB. Seven or more sheets, counting the address page, ship in a flat envelope for $2.50 more: six pages or more printed single-sided, twelve or more double-sided.
Timing: printed the next business day after payment; USPS estimates 1–5 days for First-Class delivery.
Record: the production PDF once it is available and a status page for each letter.
It doesn't sign for anyone (sign the PDF before you upload it), mail a wet-ink or notarized original, include a return envelope, send Certified Mail, issue a Certificate of Mailing, give a USPS-confirmed mailing date or receive mail. US addresses only. How Postmarkr works for executive assistants
When they ask for a wet signature#
Then the paper itself is the point, and no upload can produce it: a print service prints a picture of a signature, not ink. Run the whole loop.
- Print what needs ink: the signature pages, or the whole contract if they want initials on every page. Two originals means two sets.
- Tab every line that needs a signature, initials or a date, so nothing comes back half-signed.
- Scan before it leaves your hands. The scan is your copy, and often what the other side wants by email today.
- Mail the paper yourself: a stamp and a mailbox for an ordinary letter, the counter when the date matters, a courier when it has to arrive tomorrow.
If you're signing for your executive rather than collecting their signature, that's its own etiquette; see how to sign a letter on behalf of your boss. Remote or hybrid? This version still needs a printer and your executive in one room, so book the signing for an office day.
Countersigning: two originals, who mails what#
Countersigning means the second party signs after the first. If the instructions call for two paper originals, have your executive sign both and mail those physical sheets with a cover letter asking the other side to sign both and return one. Keep the copy signed by both sides when it comes back. Follow the recipient's instructions for the number of copies and the return route.
Put the return address you want in the cover letter, one where someone actually opens the mail. If you are mailing the physical originals yourself, you can enclose a stamped return envelope. Postmarkr cannot mail those wet-ink originals or add a return envelope. Use it only when the recipient accepts a printed copy of the signed PDF; ask them how they want any signed copy returned.
Read any counterparts clause before arranging that exchange. The linked examples allow separate signed copies to form one agreement and describe electronic delivery (sample counterparts clauses (opens in new tab)). Follow the wording in your own contract: some versions still ask for a paper original after electronic delivery.
For a board's written consent, follow the company's signing instructions and confirm any counterparts arrangement with its legal adviser before collecting signatures. Once the signed set is complete, mail printed copies only to recipients who accept them. When several people need the same PDF, see how to send multiple letters at once.
When the contract's notices clause sets the mailing method#
Before you mail a later letter under the contract, such as a termination, a non-renewal or a change of address, read the contract's own Notices section: it says which notices it covers and how they must be sent. Sample clauses from Law Insider's collection of notices clauses (opens in new tab) read like this:
- "by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested"
- "on the fourth day after the postmark if such notice is mailed first class postage prepaid"
- "five calendar days after being deposited in the mail, postage prepaid, if mailed by first-class mail"
Whichever method the clause names, two guides already do the deciding: Certified Mail alternatives sets each USPS record beside its price and tells you which ones a rule will accept, and how to postmark a letter covers the counter when the date is the thing that counts. Postmarkr sends only ordinary First-Class letters: no Certified Mail, no Certificate of Mailing, and its status page is Postmarkr's record, not a USPS acceptance date.
Keep the record: what to file and where#
Whichever route you took, file three things with the contract:
- The source document and available file copy: for a Postmarkr letter, save the PDF available from its status page alongside the approved source document; for paper you mailed, keep your scan.
- The proof that matches how you sent it: a Certified Mail receipt and return receipt, a Certificate of Mailing, a courier tracking number, or the Postmarkr status record. Keep any available status-page PDF with the approved source document.
- The countersigned original, with the date it came back.
File them where the contract lives, not in your inbox: the agreement's folder, the board folder for a consent, the grant file for a funder. A name like "2026-10-15 Signed grant agreement – copy mailed to [funder].pdf" tells the next person what happened. Then tell your executive in one line what went out, to whom and how.
Questions assistants ask about mailing signed contracts#
Can Postmarkr sign the contract for my executive?#
No. Postmarkr prints the PDF you upload, so the signature has to be on it already, e-signed or scanned.
Can the countersigned copy come back to Postmarkr?#
No. Postmarkr sends mail; it doesn't receive or scan it.
Can I send the same signed copy to several people?#
Two ways: add up to 10 different PDFs to your Cart, each to its own recipient, and check out once; or use Bulk Send to mail one PDF to up to 100 recipients per batch from a CSV.
How long does a mailed contract take to arrive?#
A Postmarkr letter is printed the next business day after payment, and USPS estimates 1–5 days for First-Class delivery (how USPS counts the days). If the arrival date matters, leave margin or use a service with a delivery record.