# E-signature for freight and logistics

docuinked lets a freight broker or logistics firm send carrier agreements, rate confirmations and driver contracts from its transport management system, with each send safe to retry and each signed copy filed back on the load.

## What freight and logistics sign

Freight is repeated paperwork under time pressure. A load can't move until the right paper is signed.

- Broker-carrier agreements, signed once per carrier.
- Rate confirmations, signed per load, often within the hour.
- Shipper agreements and [service agreements](/templates/service-agreement) with customers.
- Owner-operator and driver contracts, close to an [independent contractor agreement](/templates/independent-contractor-agreement).
- Warehouse and [vendor agreements](/templates/vendor-agreement).
- [Mutual NDAs](/templates/mutual-nda) with partners before sharing lanes and rates.

Bills of lading and customs papers often have their own rules, set by carriers, ports, agencies or treaties. Check those before you move them to any e-signature tool. And ESIGN does not apply to documents that must go with the transport of hazardous materials. See [15 USC 7003](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7003).

## A workflow story

A small brokerage covers about 60 loads a week with a team of five. Rate confirmations went out by email as PDFs, and carriers signed them by printing and scanning, or not at all.

1. A broker books a carrier on a load in the TMS.
2. The TMS creates the rate confirmation PDF with text tags for the carrier's signature, name and date.
3. A workflow calls `create_document` with `send` true and an `Idempotency-Key` of `ratecon-<load id>-<version>`.
4. The carrier's dispatcher signs on a phone from the truck stop.
5. `document.completed` fires. The TMS marks the load "Rate con signed" and releases the pickup details.
6. If the rate changes, the broker voids the first one with `void_document` and sends version 2. Both stay on record.

Because rate confirmations are high in volume, the brokerage uses a "Sends directly" key on its own server. The rate comes from the booked load, and the broker who booked it has already seen it. Agents don't get that key.

The beta caps live sends at 100 a day per account. A broker at this size is close to that line on a busy day. Write to us before you rely on it.

## An automation example

The webhook is where freight saves time. Register one with `create_webhook`, then check the signature before you act:

```
curl https://docuinked.com/v1/webhooks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DOCUINKED_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: tms-webhook-1" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://tms.example.com/hooks/docuinked"}'
```

The [webhooks page](/docs/webhooks) shows the signature check. See also [idempotency](/glossary/idempotency) for why the load ID belongs in the key.

For agents, a carrier sales assistant connected by [MCP](/glossary/mcp) can prepare carrier packets for new carriers. Those wait for a named person's approval, which suits a first contract with an unknown carrier.

## For logistics software

If you build a TMS or load board, each brokerage can be a sub-account under your one API key. Carriers see your name, logo and colour on the signing page and emails, with docuinked branding removable. You can [embed signing](/glossary/embedded-signing) in your carrier portal on allowed sites, with browser events when a carrier finishes. Emails still send from docuinked's address until custom sending domains, which are coming. See [platforms](/platforms).

## What docuinked doesn't do here

- **Hazardous materials papers.** Excluded from ESIGN.
- **Carrier vetting.** We don't check authority, insurance or safety records.
- **Electronic logging or proof of delivery capture.** Not offered.
- **SMS signing links.** Coming. Today links go by email, or you send a link you create yourself.

## Sources

Checked 2026-11-07.

- [15 USC 7003, exceptions to ESIGN](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7003)

## Common questions

### Can a dispatcher sign for the carrier?

If the carrier allows it, yes. docuinked records the email that got the link and every step taken. Whether that person had authority is a matter between you and the carrier.

### How fast does a rate confirmation come back?

As fast as the carrier signs. The `document.completed` webhook is sent once the last signature is in and the PDF is sealed. The slow part is the person, not the system.

### What if two brokers book the same carrier on the same load?

Use the load ID and a version number in the `Idempotency-Key`. Two calls with the same key return the same document, so the carrier gets one rate confirmation.

### Can I keep signed rate confirmations in my own system?

Yes, and you should. Fetch the sealed PDF with `get_signed_pdf` and the record with `get_evidence` when the webhook fires, and store both with the load.