Overview
Some organizations require visitors to submit documentation in advance to meet security, regulatory, or compliance requirements. With Required Document Uploads, admins can request specific documents during the pre-registration process, allowing visitors or admins to securely upload them for review before arriving on-site.
This is especially useful for use cases such as:
Collecting certifications or safety training records before granting access to restricted areas
Requiring separate NDAs, compliance forms, or insurance documents prior to site visits
By collecting and reviewing documentation in advance, teams can ensure visitors meet access requirements, reduce delays at check-in, and maintain a clear audit trail for compliance.
How Required Document Uploads works
Required document uploads require visitors to submit files, such as identification or training certificates, during the pre-registration process.
Admins can:
Define certain document types that can be used across sign-in flows
Upload, review, and approve documents
Enforce document requirements at check-in
Visitors receive instructions in their invite email and can upload documents before their visit to complete their pre-registration. Learn more about customizing the invite email.
Document types are created at the location level and can be used with multiple visitor types.
At this time, Visitors can only upload documents via pre-registration. Visitors cannot upload documents directly via the sign-in kiosk or QR code. Learn more about how visitors can upload their required documents.
If a visitor cannot upload their document(s), a Global or Location admin can upload a document to their invite or entry record.
Configuration
Step 1: Create a document type
First, you must create document types to be shared across sign-in flows.
Navigate to Visitors > Settings > Sign-in flows and select the sign-in flow you want to add a document to.
Navigate to the Documents tab, then click the toggle next to Required document uploads. Click New Document.
For the initial setup, you won't see any document types available. Click the drop-down menu, then click
Manage document types.
Click
Add a new document type. Give your document a descriptive name. Remember, this will be seen by other admins and visitors!
Add a Description, which is shown to visitors.
(Optional) You can check the box next to Auto-extract expiration dates for Envoy to "read" the document and populate the expiration data. Not recommended for use with identity documents.
Set the Expiration and re-upload rules.
Always require re-upload: The visitor will need to upload a copy each time they visit, regardless of whether they're a returning visitor
Never require re-upload: Visitors only need to upload a copy once, and it is used by all future visits
Sync to document's expiration date: Automatically require re-upload when the document expires.
Set expiration duration: Provide a fixed set of days from upload for the document to be valid.
Set a fixed expiration date: Provide a specific date that this document will expire.
Click Save after filling out all required fields. Your document will be added to your available types, and you can assign it to sign-in flows.
Step 2: Adding documents to a sign-in flow
Once you've created documents, you can assign them to specific sign-in flows.
While in your sign-in flow, navigate to the Documents tab, toggle Required document uploads to On, then click New Document.
Click the drop-down under Document type, then select the document required for this visitor type.
Expiration dates will be set in line with the document's defaults. Click Add document to save.
Approving or Denying documents
When a visitor submits a document during pre-registration, admins receive an email notification. You can review and take action on submitted documents from the visitor’s invite record, visitor profile, or approvals log.
Admin-submitted documents will bypass the approval step.
To approve or deny a document:
Navigate to Visitors > Invites to view the Invites log. All pending invites will appear as Approval required.
Click the visitor’s name to open their visitor invite record.
There are a few ways to view documents.
You can click Review Documents to open the document viewer.
Navigate to the Documents tab.
The submitted document will be shown inline. To open a full-screen view, hover over the document and click Open.
Click Approve or Deny.
Viewing Documents
On a visitor's invite or entry record
Both the invite and entry records include a Documents section showing all required documents for the visit, along with each document’s current status.
Statuses include:
— Document uploaded and awaiting review
— Document accepted
— Document rejected; visitor must re-upload
— No document submitted yet
You can click any pending document to open the viewer and approve or deny it.
On a visitor profile
The visitor’s profile includes a Documents tab showing all documents uploaded across their visits. For each document, admins can view:
Current status (Approved, Denied, or Pending)
Upload date
Document Type
Click any document to open the full file preview.
You can download each document by clicking the elipses (...) and selecting Download.
FAQ
Can visitors upload documents after receiving their invite?
Yes. Visitors can upload documents at any time using the pre-registration link in their invite email. If near-visit registration is enabled, visitors will not be able to upload their documents until 24-hours before their visit time.
Can I use this feature to collect identity documents, like driver's licenses or Passports?
Yes, this feature can be used for identity document collection, but this feature cannot determine the validity of these documents. For document verification, see our ID Scanning feature, powered by Veriff.
If being used for identity documentation, we recommend disabling the date auto-parser functionality. This functionality relies on a subprocessor (Anthropic) to automatically extract the expiration dates. Learn more about Envoy's core subprocessors.
What happens if document requirements change after an invite is sent?
Visitors will see the updated requirements when they open the pre-registration flow. Compliance is evaluated using the latest configuration.
Can admins download uploaded documents?
Yes. Admins can download documents individually from the visitor profile. Bulk export of documents is not currently supported.
How does this work with Legal Documents?
Envoy has a separate Legal Documents feature that lets visitors read and sign legal agreements on the iPad or during pre-registration. Required Document Uploads is distinct — it collects files like IDs or certifications that admins review and approve. Both features can be used together in the same sign-in flow.