To reduce the processing load of a server and also to unnecessitate complicated management so as to easily execute circulation even concerning a document over the plural servers by automatically transmitting a circulation document to a succeeding circulator by means of the recognizing/unrecognizing operation of the circulation document.

The receiver of the circulation document reads the circulation document from an electronic mail system with a mail reading part 1, extracts circulating order and recognizing information in a circulation document extracting part 3 and sets it in a circulating order recognizing information table 7. Then, the recognition/unrecognition of the circulation document is indicated from an input device 8 so that a recognition/unrecognition setting part 4 sets recognizing information corresponding to the electronic mail address of the receiver in the circulating order recogniging information table 7 at the time of recognition and adds recognizing information to the circultation document. Then, a succeeding circulator deciding part 5 decides the succeeding circulator based on the circulating order recognizing information table 7 and a mail transmitting part 6 transmits a mail to the circulator of the succeeding circulator deciding part 5.