When you bring a Word doc or PDF into Common Paper, the file itself is treated as final. Common Paper stores it, tracks it, and can collect signatures on it, but it does not give you a way to change the words inside it. Make any content edits in Word or Google Docs before you upload.

This article covers what you can change on an uploaded agreement, what you can't, and what to do when the document needs to change.

Once a file is uploaded, three things remain editable.

Agreement details. These are the tracking fields you fill in about the agreement, not the document content. You can update them from the agreement details page under Other Actions > Edit agreement details.

That list is complete. There are no other editable fields on an uploaded agreement.

Signature and fill-in fields. During signature setup you place fields on the document for signatures, printed names, titles, dates, and free text. These fields are for filling in blanks that already exist in your document. They do not change text that is already there.

Recipient information. You can update a recipient's name or email before they sign. See Editing Recipient Information.

NOTE: If your document has signatory names typed directly into the text rather than placed as fields, changing the recipient in Common Paper will not update those names. You need a corrected file.

The document content. There is no editor for uploaded files. Common Paper cannot add, remove, or reword anything inside your DOCX or PDF.

Key terms or Cover Page fields. Uploaded agreements do not have a Cover Page. Key terms are structured fields that exist only on agreements built from a Common Paper template, where the terms are part of the agreement record rather than text in a file. An uploaded agreement is a file, so its terms live in the document text and are not editable in Common Paper.

Proposed changes. Propose Changes works only on agreements created in Common Paper. It is not available for uploads.

Choosing Ready to be signed instead of Signed and completed at upload, or choosing New agreement instead of completing an existing one, does not unlock any of the above. Those choices control how the agreement is tracked and whether signatures are collected. Neither one makes the document editable.

What to do depends on where the agreement is in its lifecycle.

Delete the uploaded agreement, correct the file in Word or Google Docs, and upload it again.

Cancel the signature request from the agreement details page under Other Actions, then upload the corrected file and send a new signature request.

NOTE: For agreements that were newly uploaded and are not completing an existing Common Paper agreement, canceling the signature request permanently deletes the uploaded file. It cannot be recovered. Save a copy of the file outside Common Paper before you cancel.

Issue an amendment. An amendment is a new agreement that modifies the original, which keeps the signed original intact and creates a clear record of what changed. See Issuing Amendments and Changing the Terms of a Completed Agreement.

Editing the details of a signed agreement is not the same as changing its terms. Updating the Effective Date field changes how Common Paper tracks and reports on the agreement. It does not change what the signed document says.

If your counterparty redlines an uploaded agreement in Google Docs or Word and sends it back, here is the current path to get their version signed:

Because canceling deletes the uploaded file, step 1 matters. Common Paper does not keep a copy of a canceled upload.

If you want a version history of the negotiation, create the agreement from a Common Paper template instead of uploading it. Agreements created in Common Paper support Propose Changes and keep a full record of every version.