Open API 3.0 Specs

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Case File Data Structure Documentation

This document describes the complete JSON structure for the data field when creating a Penneo case file.

Overview
Root Structure
Case File Object
Signers Array
CC Recipients Array
Documents Array
Complete Example
Minimal Example

Overview

The data field must be a stringified JSON object containing a caseFile property. This structure defines all aspects of your case file including title, signers, documents, and various configuration options.

Format: The data must be sent as a JSON string, not as a JSON object.

Root Structure

{
  "caseFile": {
    // Case file configuration (see below)
  }
}

Properties

Property	Type	Required	Description
`caseFile`	object	Yes	The main case file configuration object

Case File Object

The caseFile object contains all configuration for the case file.

Required Properties

Property	Type	Description	Constraints
`title`	string	The case file title displayed in Penneo	Min: 1 char, Max: 1024 chars
`signers`	array	Array of signer objects	At least 1 signer required
`documents`	array	Array of document objects	At least 1 signable document required

Optional CaseFile properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
`ccRecipients`	array	-	Recipients who receive a copy but don't sign
`language`	string \| null	`null`	Case file language. Applied to all signers without a specific language. Options: `'en'`, `'da'`, `'sv'`, `'nl'`, `'fr'`, `'fi'`, `'no'`, `'de'`, or `null`
`metaData`	string	-	Metadata searchable in Penneo
`reference`	string	-	Reference shown in Penneo web application
`folderId`	integer	-	Folder ID where case file should be placed (min: 1)
`sendAt`	integer \| null	`null`	Unix timestamp when case file should be sent. `null` = immediately
`expireAt`	integer \| null	`null`	Unix timestamp when case file will expire
`sensitiveData`	boolean	`false`	If `true`, signers must validate their identity before accessing documents
`accessControl`	boolean	`false`	If enabled, SSN/VATIN/phone is validated before access
`visibilityMode`	integer	`0`	Document visibility: `0` = all docs visible, `1` = only docs signer must sign
`disableNotificationsOwner`	boolean	`false`	If `true`, case file owner won't receive notifications
`disableEmailAttachments`	boolean	`false`	Disables email attachments in finalization emails (overridden if `sensitiveData` is `true`)
`signOnMeeting`	boolean	`false`	Enable signing documents on a meeting

Signers Array

Each signer represents a person who will sign or review the documents.

Required Properties

Property	Type	Description	Constraints
`name`	string	Name of the signer	Min: 1 character

Optional Properties

Property	Type	Description	Constraints
`email`	string	Signer's email address. Penneo handles all communications	Valid email format
`socialSecurityNumberPlain`	string \| null	Signer's SSN or phone number	E.164 format recommended for phone
`vatin`	string \| null	VAT identification number of signer's company	-
`role`	string	Role identifier for the signer. If no role is provided, "Signer" will be used as the default role for all signers	Min: 3 chars, alphanumeric, underscore, spaces, commas. First char is mandatory alphanumeric. Last char cannot be space.
`onBehalfOf`	string	Company/organization that this signer signs on behalf of	-
`signOrder`	integer	Signing order (0 = can sign immediately)	Min: 0
`ssnType`	string	Type of SSN/mobile identification	`'legacy'`, `'dk:cpr'`, `'se:pin'`, `'no:nin'`, `'be:nrn'`, `'fi:pic'`, `'sms'`
`accessControl`	boolean	If enabled, SSN/VATIN/phone is validated before access	-
`successUrl`	string	Redirect URL after successful signing	Valid URI, min: 5 chars
`failUrl`	string	Redirect URL after signing failure	Valid URI, min: 5 chars
`language`	string \| null	Signer's preferred language	`'en'`, `'da'`, `'sv'`, `'nl'`, `'fr'`, `'fi'`, `'no'`, `'de'`, or `null`
`emailFormat`	string	Email format	`'text'` or `'html'`
`emailSubject`	string	Custom email subject	Min: 5 chars
`emailText`	string	Custom email body text	Min: 5 chars
`reminderInterval`	integer	Days before reminder is sent	Min: 1
`reminderEmailSubject`	string	Custom reminder email subject	Min: 5 chars
`reminderEmailText`	string	Custom reminder email body	Min: 5 chars
`completedEmailSubject`	string	Custom completion email subject	Min: 5 chars
`completedEmailText`	string	Custom completion email body	Min: 5 chars
`activeAt`	integer \| null	Unix timestamp when signer becomes active
`expireAt`	integer \| null	Unix timestamp when signer access expires
`enableInsecureSigning`	boolean	Enable insecure signing methods
`insecureSigningMethods`	array	If insecure signing methods are enabled, choose which ones are available for the signer	Array of allowed insecure signing methods: `'text'`, `'draw'`, `'image'`
`storeAsContact`	boolean	-	If `true`, signer will be stored as contact in Penneo

Documents Array

Each document represents a file to be signed or attached to the case file.

Required Properties

Property	Type	Description	Constraints
`title`	string	Document title	Min: 1 char, Max: 1024 chars
`name`	string	File name (must match uploaded file)	Min: 1 character

Optional Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description	Constraints
`signable`	boolean	`true`	If `true`, creates signable document. If `false`, document is a non-signable attachment	-
`roles`	array	-	Array of role identifiers that can sign this document	Each role: min: 3 chars, alphanumeric, underscore, hyphens, spaces, commas. First char is mandatory alphanumeric. Last char cannot be space.
`documentOrder`	integer	-	Display order of the document	Min: 0
`metaData`	string	-	Metadata searchable in Penneo	-

CC Recipients Array [Optional]

CC Recipients are people who should receive a copy of the case file documents but do not need to sign. They will be notified when the case file is completed.

Required Properties

Property	Type	Description	Constraints
`name`	string	Name of the recipient.	Min: 1 character
`email`	string	Email of the recipient.	Valid email format

Optional Properties

Property	Type	Description	Constraints
`storeAsContact`	boolean	Signer will be stored as a contact. Defaults to true.	-

Minimal Example

Here's a minimal example with only required fields:

{
  "caseFile": {
    "title": "Simple Agreement",
    "signers": [
      {
        "name": "John Doe",
        "email": "[email protected]"
      }
    ],
    "documents": [
      {
        "title": "Agreement Document",
        "name": "agreement.pdf"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Extended Example

Here's a comprehensive example with most fields populated:

Make sure you pass in the files array of the main payload the corresponding files with names matching the name properties in the documents array. In our example you will have to submit terms.pdf and contract.pdf files.

You can also pass a folderId in the caseFile object to place the case file in a specific folder.

{
  "caseFile": {
    "title": "Commercial Agreement 2025",
    "language": "en",
    "reference": "CONTRACT-2025-001",
    "metaData": "Q4 Commercial Contract",
    "sensitiveData": false,
    "disableNotificationsOwner": false,
    "disableEmailAttachments": false,
    "signOnMeeting": false,
    "sendAt": null,
    "expireAt": null,
    "visibilityMode": 0,
    "signers": [
      {
        "name": "John Doe",
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "role": "Client Signer",
        "language": "en",
        "socialSecurityNumberPlain": null,
        "ssnType": "dk:cpr",
        "vatin": null,
        "signOrder": 0,
        "onBehalfOf": "Acme Corporation",
        "accessControl": true,
        "storeAsContact": true,
        "successUrl": "https://example.com/success",
        "failUrl": "https://example.com/failure",
        "emailFormat": "html",
        "emailSubject": "Please sign the commercial agreement",
        "emailText": "Dear John, please review and sign the attached commercial agreement.",
        "reminderInterval": 3,
        "reminderEmailSubject": "Reminder: Please sign the commercial agreement",
        "reminderEmailText": "This is a friendly reminder to sign the agreement.",
        "completedEmailSubject": "Thank you for signing",
        "completedEmailText": "The agreement has been completed successfully.",
        "activeAt": null,
        "expireAt": null,
        "enableInsecureSigning": false,
        "insecureSigningMethods": []
      },
      {
        "name": "Jane Smith",
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "role": "Company Signer",
        "language": "en",
        "signOrder": 1,
        "onBehalfOf": "Company Ltd",
        "accessControl": false,
        "storeAsContact": true,
        "emailFormat": "text",
        "reminderInterval": 2
      }
    ],
    "ccRecipients": [
      {
        "name": "John CC",
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "storeAsContact": false
      },
      {
        "name": "Jane CC",
        "email": "[email protected]",
        "storeAsContact": true
      }
    ],
    "documents": [
      {
        "title": "Main Contract",
        "name": "contract.pdf",
        "signable": true,
        "roles": [
          "Client Signer",
          "Company Signer"
        ],
        "documentOrder": 0,
        "metaData": "Primary contract document"
      },
      {
        "title": "Terms and Conditions",
        "name": "terms.pdf",
        "signable": false,
        "metaData": "Standard T&C attachment"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Usage Notes

1. Sending the Data

The data field must be stringified when sending in a multipart/form-data request:

import { readFileSync } from "fs";

// 1. Build CaseFile JSON data
const caseFileData = {caseFile: {
    title: "My Contract",
    signers: [
      { name: "John Doe", email: "[email protected]" },
      { name: "Jane Doe", email: "[email protected]" }
    ],
    documents: [
      { title: "Contract", name: "contract.pdf" }, //name matches first uploaded doc
      { title: "Appendix", name: "appendix.pdf" }  //name matches second uploaded doc
    ]
  }};

// 2. Load files directly into File objects
const contractPdfBytes = readFileSync("./contract.pdf");
const appendixPdfBytes = readFileSync("./appendix.pdf");

const contractFile = new File([contractPdfBytes], "contract.pdf", {
  type: "application/pdf"
});

const appendixFile = new File([appendixPdfBytes], "appendix.pdf", {
  type: "application/pdf"
});

// 3. FormData
const formData = new FormData();

// JSON data field
formData.append(
  "data",
  JSON.stringify(caseFileData) // <-- Append the JSON as a simple string
);

// Add PDF files
formData.append("files", contractFile, contractFile.name);
formData.append("files", appendixFile, appendixFile.name);

// 4. POST request
const response = await fetch(
  "https://sandbox.penneo.com/send/api/v1/casefiles/20251022/create",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "X-Auth-Token": "YOUR_TOKEN_HERE" // Retrive the JWT Token based on https://penneo.readme.io/v1.3/docs/using-oauth#/api-keys-grant
    },
    body: formData
  }
);

// 5. Handle Penneo response
if (!response.ok) {
  console.error("Status code:", await response.status);
  console.error("Error:", await response.text());
  process.exit(1);
}

console.log("Success:", await response.json());

2. Role Matching

If you specify roles in documents, only signers with matching role values can sign those documents
Roles must be at least 3 characters and contain only alphanumeric characters and underscores (no spaces)
If no roles are specified on documents, all signers can sign all documents

3. File Matching

The name property in each document must match the filename of the uploaded PDF

4. Timestamps

All timestamp fields (sendAt, expireAt, activeAt) use Unix epoch time (seconds since January 1, 1970 UTC).

// JavaScript example to get Unix timestamp
const timestamp = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);

Error Handling

If validation fails, you'll receive a 400 Bad Request response with details about which fields failed validation. Common errors:

Missing required fields: Ensure title, signers, and documents are provided
Invalid role format: Roles cannot contain spaces or special characters (except underscore)
Email format: Must be a valid email address
String length: Check minimum/maximum length requirements
Invalid enum values: Language, ssnType, emailFormat must use exact values listed above
File mismatch: Document name must match uploaded PDF filename

Credentials & Testing

To interact with the Penneo API, you need to authenticate using JWT tokens.

Follow these steps:

Make sure you have your OAuth Client ID and Client Secret for the environment you are implementing. If you don't have a set, contact Penneo support to have them issued.
Generate a JWT token as described in the Authentication Guide using API Keys Grant.
With the JWT Token, you can make authorized requests to this endpoint for the lifetime of the JWT Token.
Once you submit a CaseFile, you can check its status using the Check job status by UUID endpoint. We support polling and we encourage you to check for a job status no less than every 5 seconds until the job is complete.

Create a new case file with documents and signers

Open API 3.0 Specs

Case File Data Structure Documentation

Table of Contents

Overview

Root Structure

Properties

Case File Object

Required Properties

Optional CaseFile properties

Signers Array

Required Properties

Optional Properties

Documents Array

Required Properties

Optional Properties

CC Recipients Array [Optional]

Required Properties

Optional Properties

Minimal Example

Extended Example

Usage Notes

1. Sending the Data

2. Role Matching

3. File Matching

4. Timestamps

Error Handling

Credentials & Testing