TL;DR: To migrate from Docusign safely, export your templates and completed documents before your plan changes, since access to documents ends once an account is closed. Sort templates into migrate, rebuild, or retire. Import the ones you keep, review what changes during import, and rebuild what doesn't carry over. Let agreements already out for signature finish in Docusign, and move new sending over one workflow at a time.
Leaving Docusign usually starts with a practical trigger: a renewal date, a plan that no longer fits your volume, or a cost review. The worry that follows is just as practical. Will your templates survive the move, and what happens to agreements you’ve already signed?
Both are manageable if you handle them in the right order. This guide focuses on the Docusign-specific steps: what to export, what access changes when you close an account, how Docusign templates import into BoldSign, and what you’ll need to fix by hand.
If you want the broader rollout plan, including parallel running, rollback planning, and user training, see our guide to switching eSignature providers without downtime. This article covers the Docusign-specific steps for moving your templates, completed documents, and connected workflows to BoldSign.
What to check in your Docusign account first
Before you export anything, confirm four things in your Docusign account:
- Template permission. Downloading templates requires the right template permission (create or share), which your Docusign account administrator controls.
- Agreements still out for signature. Note these so they can finish in Docusign instead of being resent.
- Completed documents. Check how many there are, where they’re stored, and how long your legal team needs you to keep them.
- Connected systems. List any CRM, HR, storage, or custom app that sends or receives data from Docusign, such as Salesforce or HubSpot. Each one will need to be reconnected and tested.
For a more detailed checklist covering users, reports, and API behavior, the provider switching guide has a detailed mapping table.
Export templates and completed documents from Docusign
Export before you change your subscription, not after.
Templates. A template is a reusable version of a document with its signer roles and fields already in place. Docusign’s support documentation on downloading and uploading templates explains that templates can be downloaded as copies and moved between accounts, provided you have the right template permission.
The download is a ZIP file that contains the template in JSON format. JSON is a structured text format that other systems can read, which is what makes importing into another platform possible.
You can download multiple available templates at once instead of downloading them one by one, which can save time when migrating a large number of templates.
Completed documents. Docusign’s guidance on downgrading or closing an account recommends downloading all documents before closing, because they won’t be accessible after closure. It also notes that downgrading to a free plan keeps access to completed documents. Plan terms can change, so check Docusign’s current guidance before you act.
When you download a completed document, keep its audit trail with it. An audit trail is a time-stamped record of document activity, such as when a document was sent, viewed, and signed. It’s your evidence if an agreement is ever questioned.
Decide which templates to migrate, rebuild, or retire
Not every Docusign template deserves a place in your new platform. Sort each one before you import.
| Group | Which templates belong here | What to do |
| Migrate | Used often, current, and already approved by legal | Import and review |
| Rebuild | Rely on features that don’t import, such as payment or formula fields | Recreate in the new platform |
| Retire | Unused for months, duplicates, or replaced by newer versions | Archive the file and leave it behind |
The “Rebuild” group is easier to identify once you know what doesn’t import. The next section lists those items, so you can sort templates accurately instead of finding problems after import.
Import Docusign templates into BoldSign
Once your templates are sorted, the next step is getting them into the new platform. If BoldSign is on your shortlist, its Docusign template import lets you bring Docusign templates over without rebuilding them from scratch. It brings over the document files, the predefined roles, and the form fields.
The steps are short:
- In BoldSign, open the Template menu and select All Templates.
- Click the New Template dropdown and choose Import Templates.
- Browse to or drag and drop each Docusign template JSON file. If your download arrived as a ZIP file, extract the JSON file first.
- Add more files with Upload another file if needed, then click Close.
- Open each imported template and review it before you send it to anyone.
What carries over, what changes, and what doesn’t
BoldSign publishes a full list of Docusign template import limitations. Here’s a summary:
| Status | Items |
| Carries over | Template name and description, files, signing order, CC recipients, roles, signer name and email, access code, phone authentication, and signature, initials, date signed, company, title, text, checkbox, dropdown, radio button, and attachment fields |
| Changes during import | Email and number fields become text fields with email or number validation. Drawing fields become image fields. |
| Partly supported | Notary and witness signer types don’t carry over. In-person hosts must belong to your organization. Unsupported languages default to English, and unsupported fonts default to the system font. |
| Doesn’t carry over | Reminder frequency, knowledge-based authentication (KBA, where signers answer security questions), and payment, formula, and note fields |
Size limits also apply: each document can hold up to 25 files and 50 signers, and each template file must be JSON and under 50 MB.
Fixing what doesn’t carry over
After import, set reminders and signer authentication again for each template that used them. Check role names too. If a connected system fills a role called “Client” and your template now uses “Customer,” that system may fail to fill it.
If a template doesn’t map cleanly, BoldSign support can help map fields to their closest BoldSign equivalent at no cost when you share the JSON file. For templates in your “Rebuild” group, BoldSign’s AI field detection can place signature, date, initial, and text fields on an uploaded document, so senders adjust fields instead of placing each one by hand.
One point on scope: template import moves reusable document setups, not signed agreements. Completed documents require a separate migration process. Eligible Docusign customers with a Production account and production-enabled API access can contact BoldSign Support to initiate completed-document migration. Until that migration is completed, keep your exported Docusign documents and audit trails in your chosen archive.
Keep signed Docusign records valid and accessible
Switching providers doesn’t weaken agreements you’ve already signed. Under the U.S. ESIGN Act, a signature, contract, or record can’t be denied legal effect just because it’s in electronic form.
What changes is where the evidence lives. For documents signed in Docusign, the audit trail is stored in Docusign, and a new platform can’t recreate it. That’s why the archive matters:
- Decide where signed documents and their audit trails will be stored after the switch.
- Name an owner for the archive, so it doesn’t become nobody’s job.
- Keep each signed document and its audit trail together.
- Confirm retention periods with your legal team before closing your Docusign account.
- Don’t ask people to sign completed agreements again just to move them.
This article is general guidance, not legal advice.
Moving Docusign API integrations to BoldSign
If your product or internal apps send documents through the Docusign API (the interface software uses to send and track documents automatically), you’ll need to update code as well as templates.
Start in a free BoldSign developer sandbox account, where you can test without affecting live documents. A few BoldSign details to plan around:
- Authentication: BoldSign verifies each API request with an API key or an OAuth 2.0 access token (a standard way for apps to get permission without sharing passwords).
- Status tracking: document sending in BoldSign is asynchronous, so track completion with webhooks rather than by repeatedly checking status.
- Webhook retries: BoldSign retries failed webhook deliveries six times using an exponential backoff schedule, with the sixth retry occurring after 24 hours.
If your developers use an AI coding agent, such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or Cursor, BoldSign publishes a Docusign to BoldSign Migration Skill that the agent can read before writing any migration code. It lists the correct mappings, such as Docusign tabs to BoldSign form fields, and the platform rules an agent would otherwise guess wrong, like treating document sending as synchronous or skipping webhook signature verification.
Point your agent to the skill, ask it to convert your existing code while preserving behavior, and then test the result in the sandbox like any other change. The Docusign to BoldSign migration guide for API workflows covers the common object mappings, webhook parity, and a five-step rollout order, with a working code example.
Switch over without stopping active agreements
Two rules keep business running during the move. First, let agreements already out for signature finish in Docusign rather than resending them. Second, move new sending to BoldSign one workflow at a time, starting with a high-volume template such as a sales agreement or onboarding form.
For the full rollout approach, including parallel running, rollback planning, and training, follow the steps in our guide to switching eSignature providers without downtime.
Measure each workflow before moving the next
“It seems to be working” isn’t a go-live test. Before moving a workflow, record a baseline from Docusign. Then compare the BoldSign version against it for a few weeks.
| Measure | What to compare |
| Turnaround time | Time from sending to completion |
| Completion rate | Share of requests that get fully signed |
| Send errors | Requests that fail or need to be resent |
| Webhook delivery | Events that reach connected systems on time |
| Adoption | Share of new requests sent from BoldSign |
| Support questions | Number and type of questions from senders and signers |
If a workflow falls short on any measure, fix it and retest before moving the next one.
How BoldSign supports the migration
For teams leaving Docusign, the two hardest parts are getting templates in cleanly and proving your integrations still work, both covered above.
If your Docusign workflow is connected to Salesforce or HubSpot, BoldSign has native integrations for both, so agreements can still be sent, tracked, and saved back to the CRM record without custom code. Learn more about the BoldSign Salesforce integration and BoldSign HubSpot integration.
On the Business plan, BoldSign includes unlimited envelopes, single sign-on (SSO), and document retention at no extra charge. Custom branding is included on every plan, including the free tier. Support through chat, email, and support tickets is included on all plans. To compare with your current setup, review the Docusign and BoldSign comparison and BoldSign pricing plans.
Docusign migration checklist
In Docusign, before you change your plan
What to check and export while you still have full account access.
- ☐ Confirm you have template download permission
- ☐ List agreements still out for signature
- ☐ Download templates you plan to keep
- ☐ Download completed documents with their audit trails
Archive
Where your signed records will live once Docusign access ends.
- ☐ Choose where signed documents will be stored
- ☐ Name an archive owner
- ☐ Confirm retention periods with legal
In BoldSign
Getting templates and connected systems ready before you send anything live.
- ☐ Sort templates into migrate, rebuild, and retire
- ☐ Import templates and review each one
- ☐ Set up reminders, signer authentication, and unsupported fields again
- ☐ Check role names used by connected systems
- ☐ Test API calls and webhooks in the sandbox
Switchover
Moving live sending over without stopping agreements already in progress.
- ☐ Record baseline measures from Docusign
- ☐ Move one workflow at a time
- ☐ Close your Docusign account only after the last pending agreement is complete and archived
Start with one template
The safest way to migrate from Docusign is to prove one workflow works before you move the rest. Export a frequently used template, import it into BoldSign, and send it through a test workflow. Developers can validate one API flow, including webhooks, in a free BoldSign API sandbox. If you’d like help planning the move, request a migration-focused demo for your highest-volume workflow.
Start your free BoldSign trial.
FAQs
Can you migrate Docusign templates to another eSignature platform?
Yes, in many cases. Docusign lets users with the right permission download templates as JSON files, and some platforms can import that format. BoldSign imports Docusign template JSON files directly, bringing over document files, roles, and form fields. Review each imported template before use, because some settings may not transfer.
How do I export templates from Docusign?
Docusign lets you download a copy of a template, which arrives as a ZIP file containing the template in JSON format. You need the right template permission (create or share), which your Docusign account administrator controls. Check Docusign’s template download and upload guide for the current steps.
What happens to signed documents if I cancel Docusign?
According to Docusign’s support guidance, documents are not accessible after an account is closed, so it recommends downloading them first. It also notes that downgrading to a free plan keeps access to completed documents. Confirm the current terms with Docusign before you change your plan.
Can I switch from Docusign without downtime?
Yes. Keep sending from Docusign while you test one workflow in the new platform, and let agreements already out for signature finish where they started. Then move new sending over one workflow at a time.
Will audit trails remain valid after a Docusign migration?
Switching providers doesn’t change the legal effect of agreements you’ve already signed. However, the audit trail for those documents stays with the platform where they were signed, and a new platform can’t recreate it. Download and keep each signed document with its audit trail, and confirm retention requirements with your legal team.
How long does it take to migrate from Docusign?
There’s no fixed timeline. It depends on how many templates you keep, how many connected systems rely on Docusign, whether your apps use the API, and how many teams need training. Moving one pilot workflow first gives you a realistic estimate for the rest.
Which Docusign features need manual rebuilding after import?
When importing into BoldSign, reminder frequency, knowledge-based authentication, and payment, formula, and note fields are not imported. Notary and witness signer types don’t carry over, and email, number, and drawing fields are converted to close equivalents. The full Docusign import limitations list shows the status of each item.
Can I migrate Docusign API workflows to another provider?
Yes, but it means updating your code, not just moving settings. Map each API call, authentication method, and webhook event to the new platform, then test in a sandbox. BoldSign provides a free developer sandbox, and teams using an AI coding agent can use BoldSign’s Docusign to BoldSign Migration Skill to help the agent map calls correctly. The migration guide for API workflows covers both.
Do I need admin access to migrate from Docusign?
Often, yes. Downloading templates requires a template permission that your Docusign administrator controls, and Docusign’s guidance states that closing an account requires a Docusign account administrator. In BoldSign, you import templates from the All Templates page.
How do I test webhook and integration parity after switching from Docusign?
List every event your systems currently receive from Docusign, such as sent, signed, declined, and completed. Set up matching webhooks in a BoldSign sandbox, trigger each event, and confirm each connected system responds as expected, including when an event arrives late.
Docusign is a trademark of Docusign, Inc. BoldSign is not affiliated with or endorsed by Docusign. Details about Docusign in this article are based on its publicly available support documentation as of September 2026 and may change.
