NextChapter supports both electronic and wet signatures. Which one you use depends on your district, as some districts (CACB, for example) do not accept electronic signatures at all. Check your District Notes before meeting with your client.
Either way, your client does not need a computer, an email account, or internet access. All of the software work happens on your side.
Electronic signatures
When a form requires a signature, NextChapter automatically inserts an electronic signature in the format /s/ First Middle Last. So the debtor never has to sign anything.
To see how signatures will appear before you file: open the case and click the orange Preview button. This renders each form exactly as it will be filed, so you can confirm signatures are landing where you expect. Worth doing on your first few cases.
Wet signatures
Use this if your district requires original signatures, or if you would simply rather have your client sign on paper.
What to tell your client: you will hand or mail them printed signature pages. They sign with a pen and return them to you. You scan and upload. Useful for clients with limited computer access, clients you meet in person, and clients who are uncomfortable signing electronically.
1. Generate signature pages only
Go to Download & Print. In the PDF Packet 1 column, choose Signature Pages Only from the dropdown. This produces just the pages with signature lines, rather than the full petition.
2. Remove the electronic signature lines
Go to the Download tab. When asked Remove E-signature lines?, select YES.
This is the step people miss without it, your printed pages will still carry the /s/ signature.
3. Print and have your client sign
Click Download, print the pages, and have your client sign them.
4. Upload the signed pages
Scan the signed pages and upload only the signed signature pages to Additional Documents > Client Document Storage.
5. Tag each page to its form
Next to each uploaded PDF, select the matching "Signature Page Only:" event code to indicate which form that signature page belongs to.
This tagging step is what makes the swap work: once tagged, the signed page replaces the electronic signature page both in Preview and at filing.
6. Preview and file
Click Preview to confirm the signed pages appear in the right places. When you file, select Complete Bankruptcy Petition (all forms and schedules), and the wet-signed pages are included automatically.
Then continue adding or editing event codes and file your case.
Related articles
District Notes: whether your court accepts electronic signatures
Download & Print: Forms, Schedules & Packets: all download options, including Signature Pages Only
Editing the Forms in the Final Packet: choosing which forms are included and in what order
Wet signatures are also called holographic, original, or ink signatures. Electronic signatures are also called e-signatures, digital signatures, or /s/ signatures.