Vaulting a Signed Contract (Vault In)

Vault In is how you lock down a fully executed contract as the legally enforceable original. When you vault a signed document, Loyva designates a single Authoritative Copy, generates a watermarked Reference Copy for day-to-day use, and writes a permanent Audit Log that proves who vaulted it, when, and from which signed source.

Once vaulted, the document moves out of your general client files into the Vault, where access is PIN-protected and every view or download is recorded. This is what makes a signed contract usable as collateral, assignable to a lender, and defensible in a dispute.

When should I use Vault In?

Use Vault In the moment a contract is fully signed by every party and you intend to treat it as the authoritative record. Typical scenarios:

  • Moving from paper to digital. You have a wet-signed paper contract, you scan it, and you want to preserve that scan as the authoritative electronic original.

  • Financing or selling an account. A new alarm monitoring agreement has been signed and will be financed or sold to a funder.

  • Retaining the official record. A residential or commercial sales agreement is complete and needs to be kept as the official record of the deal.

  • Compliance and audit. An NDA, MSA, or service agreement must be preserved with a tamper-evident chain of custody.

  • Third-party verification. Any contract that lenders, auditors, acquirers, or attorneys will need to verify as the single original.

How to Vault In a document

Loyva gives you two ways to vault a signed contract, depending on where the executed document lives. Both produce the same Authoritative Copy, Reference Copy, and Audit Log.

A. Vaulting a completed e-signed contract

  1. Open the client workspace for the customer who signed the document.

  2. Find the completed contract. Go to the Documents tab and locate the finished contract (status Completed).

  3. Choose Vault Document. Open the ... (three-dot menu) on the document row and choose Vault Document. Review the confirmation dialog, which explains that the document will be designated as the Authoritative Copy and stored securely in the Vault with an immutable audit trail.

  4. Confirm. Click Vault Document. Loyva retrieves the final signed PDF, locks it down, and moves it into the Vault.

Heads-up: Only completed documents can be vaulted from the Documents tab. If you do not see Vault Document in the menu, the contract still has pending signers or is in a draft state.

B. Vaulting a scanned paper contract

When you are moving a wet-signed paper contract into Loyva, scan the signed original first, then vault the scan as the authoritative electronic copy.

  1. Scan the signed original to a clear, complete PDF on your computer.

  2. Open the In Vault tab. Open the customer’s Client Workspace and select the In Vault tab. If prompted, unlock the Vault with your personal PIN.

  1. Click Vault-In Document and upload the scanned PDF.

  2. Complete the Vault-In sign-off. Confirm that the document is the true, complete, and fully executed original and that you are authorized to designate it as the Authoritative Copy, then submit the sign-off.

  3. Vault the document. Loyva locks the scan as the Authoritative Copy, generates the Reference Copy and Audit Log, and assigns a Vault ID. Confirm it now appears on the In Vault tab with the Authoritative Copy badge.

About the Vault-In sign-off: The sign-off is your certification that the file you are vaulting is the genuine, complete, and fully executed contract. Because the vaulted file becomes the single Authoritative Copy that lenders, auditors, and courts may rely on, take a moment to confirm the scan is legible and unaltered before you submit.

What Loyva creates when you Vault In

Every Vault In event produces four linked artifacts:

  • Authoritative Copy. The single legally controlling PDF, watermarked AUTHORITATIVE. All masked fields (SSN, banking details, and so on) are unmasked in this version so it stands on its own as the original.

  • Reference Copy. A clearly watermarked COPY, NOT AUTHORITATIVE PDF for sharing, printing, or attaching to emails without any confusion about which file is the original.

  • Audit Log PDF. A one-page certificate showing the envelope, Vault ID, who vaulted it, the exact timestamp, the organization and customer, and the names of all documents included in the vault event.

  • Vault ID. A unique identifier (VLT-...) recorded on the envelope and surfaced in reports.

Where vaulted documents live

Vaulted documents leave the general Documents view so they cannot be edited, renamed, or accidentally re-sent. They open only from the In Vault tab and require your personal PIN. Every view and download is logged.

Admins can view and download both the Authoritative Copy and the Reference Copy. Custodians can view all vaulted documents but receive only the Reference Copy.

Five failed PIN attempts lock the Vault for 15 minutes to protect against brute-force access.

UCC § 9-105 compliance: control of the Authoritative Copy

For a signed electronic contract to function as a transferable record under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, the secured party must have control of the Authoritative Copy as defined in UCC § 9-105. Loyva’s Vault is designed to satisfy each of the statutory requirements:

  • A single, unique, unalterable Authoritative Copy. Vault In produces exactly one Authoritative Copy, watermarked and bound to a unique Vault ID. The original signed PDF is preserved and write-protected in secure storage.

  • It identifies the secured party as the assignee. The vaulting organization is recorded on the Audit Log and on the envelope as the controlling party.

  • It is held by the secured party or its custodian. The file is stored under the organization’s tenant and can be assigned to a Custodian role for third-party safekeeping, for example a lender or funder.

  • Changes to an identified assignee require the secured party. Only authorized admins of the controlling organization can initiate a transfer (Vault Out) of the Authoritative Copy.

  • Every copy is readily identifiable as a copy. Each non-authoritative version carries the COPY, NOT AUTHORITATIVE watermark, and downloads of copies are logged.

  • Revisions are identifiable as authorized or unauthorized. The Authoritative Copy is immutable once vaulted. Any later change requires a Vault Out event, which is itself recorded with actor, timestamp, and reason.

Together, these controls let you treat a vaulted Loyva contract as a transferable record under UCC § 9-105 and the equivalent E-SIGN and UETA provisions for electronic chattel paper.

Audit trail & tracking

Every Vault In event is recorded in two places:

  • On the document. An attached Audit Log PDF is stored alongside the Authoritative Copy.

  • Reports › Audit Trail. A vault_in action with the actor, timestamp, customer, document name(s), and Vault ID. Later views, downloads, and any Vault Out events are appended to the same chain.

Org admins also receive an in-app notification whenever a contract is vaulted, so the compliance team always knows when a new Authoritative Copy enters the Vault.