When your company issues equity, Pulley automatically generates e-certificates as proof of ownership for each security. This article explores how to sign, send, access, and deliver those certificates.
This article pertains only certificates that have already been generated. For issuing new equity that generates certificates as part of the workflow, see Grant options to an employee or Issue shares.
Note: Certificates and stock agreements are separate documents. Certificates prove ownership. Stock agreements govern the terms of the equity. Both require signatures, but they serve different purposes.
Before you begin
Three things should be verified before working with e-certificates.
Set your share class to certificated
Certificates are only generated for share classes set to certificated. To verify or enable this setting:
Go to Cap Table in the left navigation
Select Share Classes
Click the share class → Actions → Edit
Scroll down to Enable Certificates and enable the toggle
Click Save
Non-certificated share classes do not generate certificates.
Configure certificate signatories
Certificates require at least one authorized signatory before they can be executed. Pulley supports up to two certificate signatories: a Certificate Primary (required) and an optional Certificate Secondary.
When someone is designated as a signatory, they are automatically granted Read/Write admin access and must accept their invitation before they can receive signature requests.
See Configure signatories for setup instructions →
Set stock legends
Stock legends are legal notices that appear on certificates. They cover securities law restrictions, transfer restrictions, right of first refusal notices, and similar disclosures. Legends should be configured before certificates are issued.
To add or manage legends, go to Company → Legends. Consult your legal counsel to verify which legends apply to your securities before configuring them in Pulley.
How certificates are generated
Pulley generates e-certificates automatically in the following situations:
During onboarding: Certificates are generated for all previously issued shares when your cap table goes live.
When new equity is issued: Certificates generate as part of the equity issuance workflow.
When option exercises are completed: Certificates generate after exercise payment is completed.
Certificate numbers are assigned automatically using a sequential ID with a prefix, typically a company abbreviation. ISO/NSO split exercises generate separate certificate IDs for each portion.
Once certificates are generated, they appear in your task queue for signature. See Sign e-certificates below →
Note: Certificate prefixes can be customized within each share class directly.
Sign e-certificates
Certificates that need your signature appear in your task queue under Sign documents. You will receive both an email notification and an in-app task notification when certificates are ready to sign.
Sign an individual certificate
Click the task line item in your queue to open the document
Review the certificate contents
Check the disclaimer checkbox to confirm you agree to sign electronically
Click Sign and follow the signature prompts
The task clears from your queue once signed
Sign multiple certificates with Sign All
If you have multiple signature tasks pending, use Sign All to batch-sign rather than opening each document individually.
Click the clipboard icon in the top right corner to open your task queue
Locate the Sign All button, which appears when multiple signature tasks are pending
Click Sign All to review and sign all pending documents in a single workflow
All signature tasks clear from your queue once completed
Use Sign All to clear your post-onboarding queue efficiently. Immediately after onboarding you may have 30 to 50 or more signature tasks. Sign All lets you process all of them at once rather than individually.
Signing order
Certificates are signed by company signatories only. The Certificate Primary and, if designated, the Certificate Secondary signatories. Stakeholders do not sign certificates; they accept them through their portal, which is a separate action.
💡 If both a primary and secondary signatory are designated, both must sign before the certificate is fully executed. Both tasks are distributed simultaneously, and there is no requirement for signing order between the two signatories.
Send certificates to stakeholders
Certificates can be sent to stakeholders before or after company signatories have signed, and signing is not required before delivery.
Method 1: From the Certificates page
Use this method for certificates that have already been generated and are stored in Pulley.
To download:
Navigate to Certificates in the left navigation
Click Download All Certificates to export all as PDFs, or use the individual download option for a specific certificate
To email directly:
Navigate to Certificates in the left navigation
Click Email Certificates
Note: Email Certificates only shows grants that stakeholders have not yet accepted. Previously accepted grants will not appear here.
Select the stakeholders to notify. Check the Status column to verify whether a certificate has been previously sent.
Send
Method 2: When adding a security to the cap table
Use this method when issuing new securities directly through Pulley.
Click + New and select the relevant security type
The Certificate ID is populated automatically, no manual entry required.
Select the applicable legend
Review the draft and preview each certificate
Check Notify stakeholders to accept shares if you want Pulley to notify the stakeholder automatically
Click Add to Cap Table
The certificate is issued and signatories receive a signature request
For detailed guidance on issuing new equity, see Grant options to an employee or Issue shares →
Note: Once a stakeholder is invited to Pulley, they can automatically view their certificates from their security record in their portal. No additional sending step is required for newly issued securities where the stakeholder has already been invited.
Track certificate status
To monitor outstanding certificate signatures across all grants, use the Signatory Status page (Cap Table → Security Status). For full guidance on how the two tracking tables work, what each status means, and how to resolve outstanding items, see Monitor Grant Acceptance and Signature Status.
What stakeholders see:
Stakeholders receive an email and an in-app task to accept their certificate
A preview of the certificate is visible before acceptance
Stakeholders accept the certificate through their portal
After accepting, stakeholders can view and download their certificates from their Portfolio view at any time
Resend certificates
If a stakeholder did not receive the original email or needs another copy:
Navigate to Certificates in the left navigation
Locate the certificate
Click Email Certificates and select the stakeholder
The system resends the notification
Access stored certificates
Fully executed certificates are stored and accessible from three locations.
From the Certificates page:
Navigate to Certificates in the left navigation
Locate the certificate in the list
Click to download the PDF
From the security record:
Navigate to Cap Table and locate the security
Click the security ID to expand its detail page
View the Certificate section within the Overview and click to download the certificate
From the stakeholder record:
Navigate to Stakeholders in the left navigation
Locate and select the stakeholder
Find the relevant grant or security in the Holdings table
Click the Certificate ID to open its detail page
View the Certificate section within the Overview and click to download the certificate
Special certificate scenarios
Certificates for option exercises
Exercise certificates follow a slightly different path depending on payment method:
ACH payment: Certificate generation triggers automatically once payment is complete
Manual payment: The admin must mark the exercise as Paid before certificates generate
RSA certificates
RSA certificates use the same signatory setup as other certificate types. Verify your primary and secondary signatories are configured under Company before issuing restricted stock awards.
Token certificates
Token certificates follow the same signing and sending workflows as equity certificates. Verify your token certificate signatories are configured under Company before issuing.
Troubleshooting
Certificates are missing signatures
Verify that signatories are configured under Company and have accepted their admin invitations. A signatory must accept their invitation before they will receive signature request notifications. See Configure signatories.
Certificates are missing legends
Legends can be updated without voiding and reissuing the certificate. Navigate to the grant and select Actions → Edit. In the Advanced Terms section (expandable field), enter the correct legend. Click Update to save.
Stakeholders are not receiving certificates
Verify the stakeholder's email address is on file and accurate. Ask them to check spam and junk folders. Resend from Certificates in the left navigation using Email Certificates if needed.
I am not receiving signature request notifications
Verify you have accepted your initial admin invitation. This is the most common cause. Also verify your email address is correct under Company and that email notifications are enabled under Company → Email → Settings.
Certificate numbering looks incorrect
If you see unexpected certificate IDs (wrong prefix, out-of-sequence numbers, or duplicate IDs), use Spreadsheet mode for bulk updates or select Actions → Edit from within the Cap Table section for individual certificate IDs.
What's next
Complete a pending signatory task: Complete a Signatory Request →
Configure or update your certificate signatories: Configure Signatories →