---
sourceDocument: Xanadu Employee Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/xanadu/employee-service-management

 Release :

    - xanadu

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Xanadu Employee Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - emplsm

bundleId :

    - emplsm

workflow :

    - Employee


---

# Initiate a self-served contract request

# Initiate a self-served contract request {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Xanadu
* 
* Updated August 1, 2024
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

As a case owner or fulfiller, initiate a self-served contract for the case you are working on. Self-served contracts are submitted when you want own paper based contract documents to be sent for review.

## Before you begin

Before initiating a self-serve contract request, ensure you have created contract types and templates for them. For more information, see [Create a contract type](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/wahElFVO4WF6SmznwsAglQ "As a contract configurator, create a contract type for defining different types of contract requests and associate it to a contract model.") and [Configure contract templates for a contract request](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/dDYssHPKTTTJB21PkGleIw "Create contract templates to easily generate Microsoft Word contract documents based on request types.").

Ensure that the initiate contract button has been added to your workspace. For more information, see [Add a workspace action button for initiating a contract request](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Qz39Zkf~jOprnLj65d32rQ "Define an action button in your workspace and map it to the built-in action that initiates a contract request.").

Role required: sn_cm_core.contract_user or sn_cm_core.contract_fulfiller

## Procedure

1. Navigate to your workspace.
2. Open the case for which you want to initiate a contract.
3. Select Initiate contract.
4. In the Type of paper drop-down list, select Own paper.
5. In the Contract type drop-down list, select the type of contract you want to generate.  
   Note:  
   Only active contract types are displayed in the list.
6. In the Signature type drop-down list, select the signature type for the contract document.
7. In the Start date field, specify the contract start date.
8. In the End date field, specify the contract end date.  
   The End date should be later than the Start date.
9. Select Initiate.  
   If you do not have an active contract template for the selected contract type, an error is displayed.

## Result

A contract request is initiated and opens on a new tab displaying the contract request details.

If there are validation errors, the contract request is created in Draft state. If there are no validation errors, the contract request is created in Work in progress state.

On the Contract request form, you can assign the contract request, add collaborators, add users to the watch list, change the signature type, and also update the start date and end date.

## What to do next

The next steps depend on whether there were validation errors:

* If there were validation errors, complete the signatory details and resubmit the contract request. For more information, see [Resolve the failure to submit a self-serve contract](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/p7wiq2FGvq8dG8cBE~24_Q "As a contract user, resubmit a contract request that was not submitted due to incomplete signatory information by updating and syncing signatory information.").
* If there were no validation errors, you can proceed to work on the contract request. For more information see, [Work on a self-served contract request](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r9_naLcCDvuxlMoLVhFLsA "Review and finalize a contract document according to the contract request.") and [Work on a self-served contract request](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r9_naLcCDvuxlMoLVhFLsA "Review and finalize a contract document according to the contract request.").
{#cncore-initiate-self-served-contract__ul_tg5_tst_r1c}