Sign as a tier-3 agent

Last updated Jun 14, 2026

Server-to-server signing for documents under the tier-3 ceiling — operational paperwork the customer pre-authorized.

1 call · 1 webhook

Trigger

A document falls within a tier-3 standing authorization (NDAs, contractor agreements, routine grants).

Call sequence

1. Sign in one call

POST /v1/documents/{doc}/sign  { actor: 'agent_policy_xyz' }

Idempotency

Signing idempotent on `(document, actor)`.

Webhooks

Event	Description
`document.signed`	Signed via the tier-3 policy.

Errors

Status	Code	Description
`403`	`above_tier_ceiling`	Document exceeds the tier-3 ceiling. Escalate to tier-4 or human.

Sign as tier-4Heightened authorization.

This is Rail 2: the agent itself is the signer under UETA §14, with the human principal having pre-authorised the agent's authority through the token DSL and the per-action acknowledgements. Contrast with signing via Claude, where the human is the signer and the agent only relays the typed intent.

Mint a tier-3 token

Tier-3 means "execute, with per-action human signature on high-stakes calls." The token's allow[] declares the verbs the agent can attempt; required_acknowledgements[] declares the slugs the human principal accepted at token-mint time.

curl -X POST https://api.mattermode.com/v1/tokens \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MATTER_KEY" \
  -H "Matter-Version: 2026-05-01" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{
    "tier": "tier_3",
    "principal_stakeholder_id": "stk_F0und3rCEO",
    "agent_identity": {
      "name": "Waypoint Compliance Bot",
      "vendor": "internal",
      "version": "2026.04"
    },
    "allow": [
      "documents.sign",
      "filings.create",
      "resolutions.create"
    ],
    "scope": { "entity_id": "ent_Nq3KcAbc" },
    "required_acknowledgements": [
      "agent_action_binds_principal",
      "not_legal_advice"
    ],
    "limits": {
      "max_spend_per_call": { "amount": 50000, "currency": "usd" },
      "requires_human_signature": ["documents.sign", "filings.create"]
    }
  }'

If the token's allow[] includes entities.submit (i.e. the agent can file a Certificate of Incorporation), Matter additionally requires the incorporator_signature_authorized slug at token-mint time. This is the one-time consent that the agent may sign as the named incorporator. Matter itself is never the named incorporator; the founder is, and they pre-delegate that signing authority to the agent through this slug.

Acknowledgement gate

A first attempt at a mutation fails with 422 acknowledgement_required when slugs beyond the token's mint-time floor are missing.

{
  "type": "https://api.mattermode.com/problems/acknowledgement_required",
  "title": "Acknowledgement required",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "One or more acknowledgements must be captured from the principal before this call can proceed.",
  "missing_acknowledgements": [
    {
      "slug": "late_filing_penalty_accepted",
      "reason": "Annual reports filed after March 1 incur a $200 Delaware penalty plus 1.5% interest per month."
    }
  ],
  "request_id": "req_8K2nPzWq"
}

Fetch the canonical plain-English text:

curl https://api.mattermode.com/v1/acknowledgements?slug=late_filing_penalty_accepted \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MATTER_KEY" \
  -H "Matter-Version: 2026-05-01"

Render the body in your UI or chat, capture the click, then retry the original call with the same Idempotency-Key and the captured slugs in acknowledgements[].

What happens next depends on requires_human_signature in the token's policy:

Low-stakes (call not on the list) → 200 OK, the mutation lands.
High-stakes (call on the list) → 202 Accepted with a pending Authorization resource and a signature_url.

High-stakes Authorization

High-stakes responses include an Authorization with a signature_url:

{
  "id": "flg_q4ZrT9Lp",
  "status": "pending_authorization",
  "authorization": {
    "id": "auth_8mY3pQrL",
    "status": "pending",
    "principal_stakeholder_id": "stk_F0und3rCEO",
    "agent_token_id": "tok_3aFv7mYpQ2",
    "signature_url": "https://sign.mattermode.com/a/auth_8mY3pQrL/c_5pKf2nBw",
    "expires_at": "2026-05-03T14:02:11Z",
    "what_will_happen_if_approved": [
      "File the 2025 Delaware Annual Report on behalf of ent_Nq3KcAbc.",
      "Pay $200 in late penalty plus accrued interest from the entity's billing source.",
      "Apply Waypoint Compliance Bot's electronic-agent signature under UETA §14."
    ]
  }
}

Two ways to approve. Hosted signature URL — send the human to authorization.signature_url; they approve via a Matter-hosted page. Headless approval — submit programmatically with a signature_token minted from POST /v1/signing_sessions:

curl -X POST https://api.mattermode.com/v1/authorizations/auth_8mY3pQrL/approve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_5pKf2nBw…" \
  -H "Matter-Version: 2026-05-01" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{
    "intent_text": "Jane Smith approves",
    "signing_session_id": "sigsess_4Vy7nPq2"
  }'

Once the auth flips to approved, the cascade resumes. The agent's signature is applied to any underlying document at the moment of dispatch.

What lands on the document

For any document signed during the cascade, Document.signatures[] carries an agent_authority block instead of a consent record:

{
  "signatures": [
    {
      "stakeholder_id": null,
      "agent_token_id": "tok_3aFv7mYpQ2",
      "signed_at": "2026-04-26T15:21:42Z",
      "legal_basis": "ueta_electronic_agent",
      "method": "agent_with_authorization",
      "intent_text": null,
      "consent_record": null,
      "agent_authority": {
        "principal_stakeholder_id": "stk_F0und3rCEO",
        "agent_identity": {
          "name": "Waypoint Compliance Bot",
          "vendor": "internal",
          "version": "2026.04"
        },
        "tier": "tier_3",
        "authorization_id": "auth_8mY3pQrL",
        "acknowledgements_at_signing": [
          { "slug": "agent_action_binds_principal", "version": "ack-2026-01" },
          { "slug": "not_legal_advice", "version": "ack-2026-01" },
          { "slug": "late_filing_penalty_accepted", "version": "ack-2026-01" }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

legal_basis is ueta_electronic_agent — the signature was applied by an agent acting under UETA §14, with the principal having pre-authorised the agent's authority and counter-signed the high-stakes call. intent_text and consent_record are null — those fields belong to the human-signer rail.

Failure modes

Code	What happened	Recovery
`422 acknowledgement_required`	One or more slugs missing from `acknowledgements[]`.	Fetch slugs from `GET /v1/acknowledgements`, present to the human, capture, retry with same `Idempotency-Key`.
`403 human_signature_required`	Token attempted a call on `requires_human_signature[]` but the response was treated as final.	Soft 403 paired with the `Authorization` resource — follow the `signature_url` or call `POST /v1/authorizations/{id}/approve`.
`403 tier_insufficient`	Token is tier-2 (prepare-only) or tier-1 (observe).	Re-issue the token at tier-3 with the relevant `allow[]` verbs.
`408 Request Timeout` after `authorization.created`	Human didn't approve within the auth's `expires_at`.	The auth flips to `expired`. Re-fire the original call with a new `Idempotency-Key`.
`409 Conflict` `acknowledgement_version_stale`	The principal accepted version `ack-2026-01` but Matter has since published `ack-2026-02`.	Re-fetch the acknowledgement, re-present, re-capture, retry. Old versions are not honoured.

Tier-3 vs tier-4

Behaviour	Tier 3 (this recipe)	Tier 4
Per-action human countersign	Required for `requires_human_signature[]` calls.	Not required during the standing window.
Standing authorisation	None — every call evaluates against the live token policy.	Yes, captured up front via `tier_4_standing_authority_acknowledged`.
Acknowledgement floor	Slugs declared at mint time.	Same, plus the standing-authority slug.
Document `legal_basis`	`ueta_electronic_agent`.	`ueta_electronic_agent`.
Authority block	Includes `authorization_id`.	Includes `standing_authorization_id`.

Tier-4 is for narrow, recurring tasks (annual filings, BOI updates, scheduled franchise tax). It is not available for entities.submit, entities.dissolve, or any corporate_transactions.* verb under any policy.

Agent token reference

The 4-tier model, allow[] verbs, scope policy DSL, and required_acknowledgements.

Sign as a tier-4 agent

Standing authorisation for narrow recurring tasks.

Sign with Claude

When the human is still the signer and the agent is the relay.

Last updated Jun 14, 2026

Server-to-server signing for documents under the tier-3 ceiling — operational paperwork the customer pre-authorized.

1 call · 1 webhook

Trigger

A document falls within a tier-3 standing authorization (NDAs, contractor agreements, routine grants).

Call sequence

1. Sign in one call

POST /v1/documents/{doc}/sign  { actor: 'agent_policy_xyz' }

Idempotency

Signing idempotent on `(document, actor)`.

Webhooks

Event	Description
`document.signed`	Signed via the tier-3 policy.

Errors

Status	Code	Description
`403`	`above_tier_ceiling`	Document exceeds the tier-3 ceiling. Escalate to tier-4 or human.

Sign as tier-4Heightened authorization.

Mint a tier-3 token

curl -X POST https://api.mattermode.com/v1/tokens \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MATTER_KEY" \
  -H "Matter-Version: 2026-05-01" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{
    "tier": "tier_3",
    "principal_stakeholder_id": "stk_F0und3rCEO",
    "agent_identity": {
      "name": "Waypoint Compliance Bot",
      "vendor": "internal",
      "version": "2026.04"
    },
    "allow": [
      "documents.sign",
      "filings.create",
      "resolutions.create"
    ],
    "scope": { "entity_id": "ent_Nq3KcAbc" },
    "required_acknowledgements": [
      "agent_action_binds_principal",
      "not_legal_advice"
    ],
    "limits": {
      "max_spend_per_call": { "amount": 50000, "currency": "usd" },
      "requires_human_signature": ["documents.sign", "filings.create"]
    }
  }'

Acknowledgement gate

A first attempt at a mutation fails with 422 acknowledgement_required when slugs beyond the token's mint-time floor are missing.

{
  "type": "https://api.mattermode.com/problems/acknowledgement_required",
  "title": "Acknowledgement required",
  "status": 422,
  "detail": "One or more acknowledgements must be captured from the principal before this call can proceed.",
  "missing_acknowledgements": [
    {
      "slug": "late_filing_penalty_accepted",
      "reason": "Annual reports filed after March 1 incur a $200 Delaware penalty plus 1.5% interest per month."
    }
  ],
  "request_id": "req_8K2nPzWq"
}

Fetch the canonical plain-English text:

curl https://api.mattermode.com/v1/acknowledgements?slug=late_filing_penalty_accepted \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MATTER_KEY" \
  -H "Matter-Version: 2026-05-01"

Render the body in your UI or chat, capture the click, then retry the original call with the same Idempotency-Key and the captured slugs in acknowledgements[].

What happens next depends on requires_human_signature in the token's policy:

Low-stakes (call not on the list) → 200 OK, the mutation lands.
High-stakes (call on the list) → 202 Accepted with a pending Authorization resource and a signature_url.

High-stakes Authorization

High-stakes responses include an Authorization with a signature_url:

{
  "id": "flg_q4ZrT9Lp",
  "status": "pending_authorization",
  "authorization": {
    "id": "auth_8mY3pQrL",
    "status": "pending",
    "principal_stakeholder_id": "stk_F0und3rCEO",
    "agent_token_id": "tok_3aFv7mYpQ2",
    "signature_url": "https://sign.mattermode.com/a/auth_8mY3pQrL/c_5pKf2nBw",
    "expires_at": "2026-05-03T14:02:11Z",
    "what_will_happen_if_approved": [
      "File the 2025 Delaware Annual Report on behalf of ent_Nq3KcAbc.",
      "Pay $200 in late penalty plus accrued interest from the entity's billing source.",
      "Apply Waypoint Compliance Bot's electronic-agent signature under UETA §14."
    ]
  }
}

curl -X POST https://api.mattermode.com/v1/authorizations/auth_8mY3pQrL/approve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sig_5pKf2nBw…" \
  -H "Matter-Version: 2026-05-01" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{
    "intent_text": "Jane Smith approves",
    "signing_session_id": "sigsess_4Vy7nPq2"
  }'

Once the auth flips to approved, the cascade resumes. The agent's signature is applied to any underlying document at the moment of dispatch.

What lands on the document

For any document signed during the cascade, Document.signatures[] carries an agent_authority block instead of a consent record:

{
  "signatures": [
    {
      "stakeholder_id": null,
      "agent_token_id": "tok_3aFv7mYpQ2",
      "signed_at": "2026-04-26T15:21:42Z",
      "legal_basis": "ueta_electronic_agent",
      "method": "agent_with_authorization",
      "intent_text": null,
      "consent_record": null,
      "agent_authority": {
        "principal_stakeholder_id": "stk_F0und3rCEO",
        "agent_identity": {
          "name": "Waypoint Compliance Bot",
          "vendor": "internal",
          "version": "2026.04"
        },
        "tier": "tier_3",
        "authorization_id": "auth_8mY3pQrL",
        "acknowledgements_at_signing": [
          { "slug": "agent_action_binds_principal", "version": "ack-2026-01" },
          { "slug": "not_legal_advice", "version": "ack-2026-01" },
          { "slug": "late_filing_penalty_accepted", "version": "ack-2026-01" }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Failure modes

Code	What happened	Recovery
`422 acknowledgement_required`	One or more slugs missing from `acknowledgements[]`.	Fetch slugs from `GET /v1/acknowledgements`, present to the human, capture, retry with same `Idempotency-Key`.
`403 human_signature_required`	Token attempted a call on `requires_human_signature[]` but the response was treated as final.	Soft 403 paired with the `Authorization` resource — follow the `signature_url` or call `POST /v1/authorizations/{id}/approve`.
`403 tier_insufficient`	Token is tier-2 (prepare-only) or tier-1 (observe).	Re-issue the token at tier-3 with the relevant `allow[]` verbs.
`408 Request Timeout` after `authorization.created`	Human didn't approve within the auth's `expires_at`.	The auth flips to `expired`. Re-fire the original call with a new `Idempotency-Key`.
`409 Conflict` `acknowledgement_version_stale`	The principal accepted version `ack-2026-01` but Matter has since published `ack-2026-02`.	Re-fetch the acknowledgement, re-present, re-capture, retry. Old versions are not honoured.

Tier-3 vs tier-4

Behaviour	Tier 3 (this recipe)	Tier 4
Per-action human countersign	Required for `requires_human_signature[]` calls.	Not required during the standing window.
Standing authorisation	None — every call evaluates against the live token policy.	Yes, captured up front via `tier_4_standing_authority_acknowledged`.
Acknowledgement floor	Slugs declared at mint time.	Same, plus the standing-authority slug.
Document `legal_basis`	`ueta_electronic_agent`.	`ueta_electronic_agent`.
Authority block	Includes `authorization_id`.	Includes `standing_authorization_id`.

Sign as a tier-3 agent

Trigger

Call sequence

1. Sign in one call

Idempotency

Webhooks

Errors

Mint a tier-3 token

Acknowledgement gate

High-stakes Authorization

What lands on the document

Failure modes

Tier-3 vs tier-4

Agent token reference

Sign as a tier-4 agent

Sign with Claude

On this page

Sign as a tier-3 agent

Trigger

Call sequence

1. Sign in one call

Idempotency

Webhooks

Errors

Mint a tier-3 token

Acknowledgement gate

High-stakes Authorization

What lands on the document

Failure modes

Tier-3 vs tier-4

Agent token reference

Sign as a tier-4 agent

Sign with Claude

On this page

Sign as a tier-3 agent

Trigger

Call sequence

1. Sign in one call

Idempotency

Webhooks

Errors

Related

Agent token reference

Sign as a tier-4 agent

Sign with Claude

On this page

Sign as a tier-3 agent

Trigger

Call sequence

1. Sign in one call

Idempotency

Webhooks

Errors

Related

Agent token reference

Sign as a tier-4 agent

Sign with Claude

On this page