What is a status in CLM?
🗺️ Overview
In CLM, a contract status represents the current stage of a contract within its lifecycle. Statuses help users understand where a contract stands, what actions are allowed, and what the next steps are.
Each contract moves through a set of clearly defined statuses, ensuring transparency, governance, and controlled progression from creation to completion and archiving.
🎯Purpose
Contract statuses are designed to:
Provide clear visibility into the current state of each contract
Enforce a governed contract lifecycle
Control which actions are allowed at each stage
Support collaboration between business, legal, and finance users
Prevent unintended or premature changes to contracts
🧑🦱 Who Can Use This
All users with access to the Contract Management module and specified contracts, can see on which Status the contract is.
Only Power Users can transition the contract through it’s lifecycle.
⏱️ Contract Statuses Explained
🔧 Draft
What it means
The contract is being created or prepared and is not yet ready for formal authoring or review.
What users can do
Create or update contract metadata
Upload or adjust documents
Assign related contract
Delete draft
Change owner
Assign Viewers/Editors which should receive access further in the workflow
Activate a contract - if it was imported with the signed Main document
Draft contract can be saved with minimum changes made in the contract, validation rules are skipped on purpose
🔒 Authoring
What it means
The contract is actively being edited and reviewed, typically involving legal or other stakeholders.
What users can do
Edit contract metadata and documents
Edit contract relations
Lock the contract for editing to prevent parallel changes
Manage document versions
Delete a contract
Change owner
Move to Archive
Send for manual signing
✏️ Ready for Signature
What it means
The contract content is finalized and prepared for signing.
What users can do
Review final contract content
Validate required contract information
Send the contract for manual (offline) signing
Move back to Authoring if any change is needed
🔏 Manual Signing
What it means
The contract is in the process of being signed outside the system (offline), for example using handwritten or external signing methods.
What users can do
Upload manually signed contract documents
Complete signing
🖊️ Signed
What it means
The contract has been signed by all required parties, but is not yet active.
What users can do
Review the signed contract
Activate the contract
📉 Active
What it means
The contract is legally effective and in force.
What users can do
View contract details and documents
Monitor contract duration, renewals, and key dates
Use the contract as a reference for business operations
Edit the contract
Change owner
Deactivate the contract
Renew the contract manually or automatically
Inactive
What it means
The contract is no longer legally effective or in force, but is retained in the system for reference, compliance, and possible future actions (such as renewal or archiving).
What users can do
View contract details and documents
Use the contract as a reference for historical or audit purposes
Edit the contract
Change owner
Re-activate the contract through the renewal flow
Move to Archive
🗃️ Archived
What it means
The contract is no longer active but is retained for reference and compliance.
What users can do
View archived contracts and documents
Access historical information without modifying the contract, except for linking related contracts and adding contract permissions
🖇️ How Status Transitions Work
Contracts move through statuses in a controlled sequence
Only permitted users can change a contract’s status
Each status unlocks or restricts specific actions
Status changes ensure accountability and auditability
Best Practices
Keep contracts in Draft until all required metadata is prepared
Use Authoring when legal or formal review is required
Move contracts to Ready for Signature only once content is finalized
Ensure signed documents are uploaded before marking contracts as Signed
Activate contracts only when all conditions are met
Archive contracts once they expire or are no longer relevant