How to Prepare a Recipient List for Bulk Send (CSV Import)

A good recipient list is the difference between a bulk send that goes out cleanly and one that stops at the upload. Inkfree builds the file's headers for you, so most of the work is filling and cleaning rows.

Three Ways to Add Recipients

The Recipients step of a bulk send offers three tabs. Up to 1,000 recipients fit in one batch.

• Upload a file: a CSV built from the template Inkfree generates for your document.
• Type rows: enter name, email and, where needed, phone directly in a grid. Handy for short lists.
• From a saved list: reuse a recipient list saved in your workspace. Every row is checked again before anything is sent, because an address that worked last time may not work now. Deleting a saved list removes it for everyone in the workspace, but batches already sent from it are unaffected.

Building the CSV

1. Click Download CSV template. Inkfree saves a file named after your document with the header row already in place.
2. Add one row per recipient. Name and email are required.
3. Add a phone number if the role is delivered by Text or verified by SMS OTP. The template only includes a phone column when it is needed.
4. Fill any extra columns. Each one is named after a labeled field in your document, such as a start date or region. See how to personalize documents within a bulk send.
5. Save as CSV (UTF-8) so names with accents such as "José" or "Zoë" stay intact.

Header Rules

Keep the headers exactly as generated. Inkfree matches each column to a field by its header, and it rejects the whole file if:

• A header does not match a fillable field on the document. Download the CSV template again to get the right headers.
• The same column appears twice.
• The file includes a column for a signer set to Same for all. That person's details are entered once on the Signers step.
• The file includes an access code column. Access codes are never part of the file: you enter them per recipient after the upload.

To change a column's name, change the field's label in the document and download the template again.

Cleaning Checklist

• Remove duplicate emails. Inkfree does not remove duplicates for you. A row that repeats an earlier recipient only triggers a warning, and it still sends.
• Trim spaces. A trailing space can make a valid address fail.
• Scan for typos: missing @ signs and misspelled domains such as "gmial.com".
• Format values as they should print, for example "$85,000" rather than "85000".

What Happens After the Upload

Inkfree checks every row and shows a summary such as "250 rows checked · 3 need attention", with each row marked Ready, Invalid, Incomplete or Blank. For each flagged row you can fix it in the grid or click Skip. Skipped rows stay visible but are not sent, and blank rows are ignored. Nothing is sent until you finish the wizard and click Send.

If a role uses an Access Code, enter each recipient's code in the grid after the upload: 4 to 20 characters with no spaces. Share each code with its recipient yourself; Inkfree never emails it. See setting a signing password for a document.

Rows that still fail when the batch sends are covered in why some bulk send recipients fail.