Availability: All plans
When you create a document from a template, all the roles defined in that template carry over as role containers. A role container holds the fields and variables assigned to that role in the template — even if you haven't assigned a recipient to it yet.
This means you can create a document, skip filling in a role immediately, and the fields stay intact until you're ready to assign someone. You can also remove a role you don't need on a specific document, or merge two roles together if the same person is filling both.
Note: Role containers are available for documents created with the new document experience. If you're on the legacy editor, you'll see the previous recipient behavior instead.
Assign a recipient to a role
You can assign recipients to roles in two places: during Step 1 (Add recipients) of the document creation flow, or later from the Recipients panel while editing the document.
During document creation (Step 1)
When you create a document from a template, Step 1 of the document creation flow shows the Add recipients panel. Roles without a pre-assigned recipient appear with a red dot and a placeholder name (for example, Add Client Signer).
To assign a recipient to a role:
Select the the unassigned role.
Start typing the recipient's name or email address and select them from the list or select Create new contact if you don't have this recipient in your contacts yet.
Repeat for each unassigned role, then proceed to the next step.
While editing the document (Step 2)
If you skipped assigning a role in Step 1, you can do it from the editor. Look for the Manage recipients button link on the right panel in document editor — it shows an Assign roles badge with the number of unassigned roles.
Select Manage recipients to open the Recipients panel.
Select the unassigned role.
Start typing the recipient's name or email address and select them from the list or select Create new contact if you don't have this recipient in your contacts yet.
Tip: You can also pre-assign recipients directly in the template so they're automatically filled in every time a document is created from it. See Template roles for details.
Manage an assigned recipient
Once a recipient is assigned to a role, select the three-dot menu (⋮) next to their name in the Recipients panel to see the available actions:
Edit personal details — update the recipient's name, email, or other contact information without replacing them.
Replace recipient — swap the current person for someone else. All fields assigned to this role stay assigned — only the person changes.
Combine recipients — merge this role with another role on the document so one person handles both. See Combine two roles into one below.
Unassign recipient — remove the person from this role without removing the role itself. The role container and its fields remain in the document, unassigned.
Remove a role from a document
If a role from the template isn't needed on a specific document, you can remove it entirely. When you do, PandaDoc asks what to do with the fields that were assigned to that role.
Open the document and go to the Recipients panel on the right.
Select the three-dot menu (⋮) next to the role you want to remove.
Select Remove from document.
In the dialog that appears, choose what to do with the role's assigned fields:
Unassign fillable fields — the fields stay in the document but are no longer assigned to anyone.
Delete assigned fillable fields — all fields assigned to that role are permanently removed from the document.
Reassign to [recipient name] — the fields are transferred to another existing recipient on the document.
Select Remove.
Warning: Selecting Delete assigned fillable fields permanently removes those fields from the document. This can't be undone.
Note: The Reassign to option only appears if there's at least one other recipient already assigned to the document.
Combine two roles into one
Use Combine recipients when two roles in a document should be filled by the same person. This merges both roles into one — all fields and variables from both roles are reassigned to a single recipient.
A common scenario: your template has separate Sender and Account Manager roles, but on a specific deal, the same person plays both. Combining them means that person signs and fills everything in one step, with no duplicate entries.
Open the document and go to the Recipients panel on the right.
Select the three-dot menu (⋮) next to either role you want to combine.
Select Combine recipients.
Select the other role to merge it with.
Confirm the combination.
After combining, all fields and variables from both roles are consolidated under a single recipient. The merged role takes the name and assignment of the role you selected in step 4.
Note: Combining roles is permanent for that document. It doesn't affect the original template or other documents created from it.
What's new compared to the previous experience
Previously, when creating a document from a template, every role had to be assigned before you could proceed — or the associated fields would become orphaned and unassigned with no clear path to clean them up.
With role containers, the fields stay grouped and intact even when a role is unassigned. You decide what happens to them: keep them, delete them as a set, or move them to another recipient. This makes it much easier to adapt a template to the specifics of each deal without having to manually hunt down and reassign stray fields.