<PAGE>   1
      AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1999.
                                                     REGISTRATION NO. 333-______
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933


                          DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORPORATION
             (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)

         DELAWARE                                       33-0485994
      --------------                                 ----------------
 (STATE OF INCORPORATION)                   (I.R.S. EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NO.)

                               6339 PASEO DEL LAGO
                               CARLSBAD, CA 92009
   (ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE, OF REGISTRANT'S PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES)

                        1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN


                            (FULL TITLE OF THE PLAN)

                                 BARTON L. FABER
                     PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                          DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORPORATION
                               6339 PASEO DEL LAGO
                               CARLSBAD, CA 92009
                                 (760) 602-1400
 NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE, OF AGENT FOR SERVICE)

                                   COPIES TO:
                             MARK A. BERTELSEN, ESQ.
                        WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
                            PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
                               650 PAGE MILL ROAD
                            PALO ALTO, CA 94304-1050
                                 (415) 493-9300

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
=======================================================================================================================
                                                              PROPOSED MAXIMUM    PROPOSED MAXIMUM         AMOUNT OF
                                          AMOUNT TO BE         OFFERING PRICE        AGGREGATE            REGISTRATION
TITLE OF SECURITIES TO BE REGISTERED      REGISTERED(1)         PER SHARE(2)       OFFERING PRICE             FEE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                       <C>                 <C>                 <C>                     <C>
Common Stock, $0.001 par value,
reserved for issuance under the
1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
(the "Plan")                                   211,639          $  1.646875          $348,542.98              $ 97.00

            TOTAL ...............              211,639                               $348,542.98              $ 97.00
                                               =======                               ===========              =======
=======================================================================================================================
</TABLE>


(1)  This Registration Statement shall also cover any additional shares of
     Common Stock which become issuable under the Plan being registered pursuant
     to this Registration Statement by reason of any stock dividend, stock
     split, recapitalization or any other similar transaction effected without
     the receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the number of
     the Registrant's outstanding shares of Common Stock.

(2)  Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933
     (the "Securities Act") solely for the purpose of calculating the
     registration fee. The computation is based upon the average of the high and
     low sale prices of the Common Stock as reported on The Nasdaq National
     Market on August 27, 1999, multiplied by 85%, which is the percentage of
     the trading purchase price applicable to purchases under the referenced
     Plan.

================================================================================

<PAGE>   2
                          DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORPORATION

                       REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-8


                                     PART I

                     INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THIS PROSPECTUS

      Omitted pursuant to the instructions and provisions of Form S-8.


                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3.     INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

      There are hereby incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement
the following documents and information heretofore filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission") by Document Sciences Corporation (the
"Registrant"):

      (1)   The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
            ended December 31, 1998 filed with the Commission on March 31, 1999
            pursuant to Section 13(a) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
            amended (the "Exchange Act");

      (2)   The Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
            March 31, 1999 filed with the Commission on May 14, 1999 pursuant to
            Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

      (3)   The Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
            June 30, 1999 filed with the Commission on August 13, 1999 pursuant
            to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

      (4)   The Registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed
            with the Commission on April 30, 1999 pursuant to Section 14(a) of
            the Exchange Act.

      (5)   The description of Registrant's Common Stock contained in the
            Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the
            Commission on July 10, 1996 pursuant to Section 12(g) of the
            Exchange Act, as amended on August 9, 1996, including any amendment
            or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

      In addition, all documents subsequently filed with the Commission by the
Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act
on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereunder
have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold under
this Registration Statement, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in
this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of
such documents. Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or
deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or
superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the

<PAGE>   3

extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed
document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein
modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any statement so modified or
superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to
constitute a part of this Registration Statement.


ITEM 4.      DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

      Not Applicable.


ITEM 5.      INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

      Not Applicable.


ITEM 6.      INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

      Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law authorizes a court to
award or a corporation's Board of Directors to grant indemnification to
directors and officers in terms sufficiently broad to permit such
indemnification under certain circumstances for liabilities (including
reimbursement for expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act of 1933.
The Registrant's Bylaws provide for mandatory indemnification of its directors
and officers and permissible indemnification of employees and other agents to
the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law. In
addition, the Registrant's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General
Corporation Law, its directors shall not be personally liable for monetary
damages for breach of the directors' fiduciary duties as directors to the
Registrant and its stockholders. This provision in the Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation does not eliminate the directors' fiduciary duty,
and, in appropriate circumstances, equitable remedies such as injunctive or
other forms of non-monetary relief will remain under Delaware law. Further, each
director will continue to be subject to liability for breach of the director's
duty of loyalty to the Registrant, for acts or omissions not in good faith or
involving intentional misconduct or knowing violations of law, for acts or
omissions that the director believes to be contrary to the best interests of the
Registrant or its stockholders, for any transaction from which the director
derived an improper personal benefit, for acts or omissions involving a reckless
disregard for the director's duty to the Registrant or its stockholders when the
director was aware or should have been aware of a risk of serious injury to the
Registrant or its stockholders, for acts or omissions that constitute an
unexcused pattern of inattention that amounts to an abdication of the director's
duty to the Registrant or its stockholders, for improper transactions between
the director and the Registrant and for improper distributions to stockholders
and loans to directors and officers. This provision also does not affect a
director's responsibilities under any other laws, such as the federal securities
laws or state or federal environmental laws. In addition, the Registrant has
entered into contractual agreements with each of its directors and certain
officers of the Registrant designated by the Board to indemnify such individuals
to the fullest extent permitted by law.


ITEM 7.      EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

      Not applicable.



                                      II-2
<PAGE>   4

ITEM 8.      EXHIBITS.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
      EXHIBIT
      NUMBER                                DESCRIPTION
     --------       ------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                 <C>
        4.1         1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

        5.1         Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., with
                    respect to the securities being registered.

       23.1         Consent of Independent Auditors.

       23.2         Consent of Counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1).

       24.1         Power of Attorney (see page II-4).
</TABLE>


ITEM 9.      UNDERTAKINGS.

        A. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

               (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement.

               (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be
a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

               (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

        B. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

        C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise,
the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and
Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed
in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.



                                      II-3
<PAGE>   5

                                   SIGNATURES

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of Carlsbad, State of California, on this 31st day
of August 1999.

                                          DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORPORATION


                                          By: /s/ Barton L. Faber
                                              ----------------------------------
                                          Barton L. Faber, President and
                                          Chief Executive Officer

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

      KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints Barton L. Faber and John H. Wilson,
jointly and severally, his or her attorneys-in-fact, each with the power of
substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments
to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 and to file the same, with exhibits
thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorneys-in-fact, or their substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be
done by virtue hereof.

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
        Signature                                  Title                             Date
---------------------------      ---------------------------------------        ---------------
<S>                              <C>                                            <C>

/s/ Barton L. Faber              President, Chief Executive Officer and         August 31, 1999
---------------------------      Director (Principal Executive Officer)
Barton L. Faber

/s/ John H. Wilson               Vice President, Finance                        August 31, 1999
---------------------------      (Principal Financial and Accounting
John H. Wilson                   Officer)

/s/ Thomas L. Ringer             Chairman of the Board of Directors             August 31, 1999
---------------------------
Thomas L. Ringer

/s/ Charles P. Holt              Director                                       August 31, 1999
---------------------------
Charles P. Holt

/s/ Colin J. O'Brien             Director                                       August 31, 1999
---------------------------
Colin J. O'Brien

/s/ Brian E. Stern               Director                                       August 31, 1999
---------------------------
Brian E. Stern
</TABLE>



                                      II-4
<PAGE>   6

                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
      EXHIBIT
      NUMBER                            DESCRIPTION
     --------       ------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                 <C>
         4.1        1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

         5.1        Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., with
                    respect to the securities being registered.

        23.1        Consent of Independent Auditors.
</TABLE>
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 17285}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORP", "cik": "0001016831", "assigned-sic": "7372", "irs-number": "330485994", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-86513", "film-number": "99706131"}, "business-address": {"street1": "6333 GREENWICH DR STE 100", "city": "SAN DIEGO", "state": "CA", "zip": "92122", "phone": "619625"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "6333 GREENWICH DRIVE SUITE 100", "city": "SAN DIEGO", "state": "CA", "zip": "92122"}}
1
      AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1999.
                                                     REGISTRATION NO. 333-______
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                          DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORPORATION
             (EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)

         DELAWARE                                       33-0485994
      --------------                                 ----------------
 (STATE OF INCORPORATION)                   (I.R.S. EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NO.)

                               6339 PASEO DEL LAGO
                               CARLSBAD, CA 92009
   (ADDRESS, INCLUDING ZIP CODE, OF REGISTRANT'S PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES)

                        1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

                            (FULL TITLE OF THE PLAN)

                                 BARTON L. FABER
                     PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                          DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORPORATION
                               6339 PASEO DEL LAGO
                               CARLSBAD, CA 92009
                                 (760) 602-1400
 NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE, OF AGENT FOR SERVICE)

                                   COPIES TO:
                             MARK A. BERTELSEN, ESQ.
                        WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
                            PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
                               650 PAGE MILL ROAD
                            PALO ALTO, CA 94304-1050
                                 (415) 493-9300

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
=======================================================================================================================
                                                              PROPOSED MAXIMUM    PROPOSED MAXIMUM         AMOUNT OF
                                          AMOUNT TO BE         OFFERING PRICE        AGGREGATE            REGISTRATION
TITLE OF SECURITIES TO BE REGISTERED      REGISTERED(1)         PER SHARE(2)       OFFERING PRICE             FEE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock, $0.001 par value,
reserved for issuance under the
1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
(the "Plan")                                   211,639          $  1.646875          $348,542.98              $ 97.00

            TOTAL ...............              211,639                               $348,542.98              $ 97.00
                                               =======                               ===========              =======
=======================================================================================================================
(1)  This Registration Statement shall also cover any additional shares of
     Common Stock which become issuable under the Plan being registered pursuant
     to this Registration Statement by reason of any stock dividend, stock
     split, recapitalization or any other similar transaction effected without
     the receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the number of
     the Registrant's outstanding shares of Common Stock.

(2)  Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933
     (the "Securities Act") solely for the purpose of calculating the
     registration fee. The computation is based upon the average of the high and
     low sale prices of the Common Stock as reported on The Nasdaq National
     Market on August 27, 1999, multiplied by 85%, which is the percentage of
     the trading purchase price applicable to purchases under the referenced
     Plan.

================================================================================
2
                          DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORPORATION

                       REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-8

                                     PART I

                     INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THIS PROSPECTUS

      Omitted pursuant to the instructions and provisions of Form S-8.

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3.     INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

      There are hereby incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement
the following documents and information heretofore filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission") by Document Sciences Corporation (the
"Registrant"):

      (1)   The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
            ended December 31, 1998 filed with the Commission on March 31, 1999
            pursuant to Section 13(a) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
            amended (the "Exchange Act");

      (2)   The Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
            March 31, 1999 filed with the Commission on May 14, 1999 pursuant to
            Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

      (3)   The Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
            June 30, 1999 filed with the Commission on August 13, 1999 pursuant
            to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

      (4)   The Registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed
            with the Commission on April 30, 1999 pursuant to Section 14(a) of
            the Exchange Act.

      (5)   The description of Registrant's Common Stock contained in the
            Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the
            Commission on July 10, 1996 pursuant to Section 12(g) of the
            Exchange Act, as amended on August 9, 1996, including any amendment
            or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

      In addition, all documents subsequently filed with the Commission by the
Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act
on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a
post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereunder
have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold under
this Registration Statement, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in
this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of
such documents. Any statement contained herein or in a document incorporated or
deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or
superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the
3

extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed
document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein
modifies or supersedes such earlier statement. Any statement so modified or
superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to
constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

ITEM 4.      DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

      Not Applicable.

ITEM 5.      INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

      Not Applicable.

ITEM 6.      INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

      Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law authorizes a court to
award or a corporation's Board of Directors to grant indemnification to
directors and officers in terms sufficiently broad to permit such
indemnification under certain circumstances for liabilities (including
reimbursement for expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act of 1933.
The Registrant's Bylaws provide for mandatory indemnification of its directors
and officers and permissible indemnification of employees and other agents to
the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law. In
addition, the Registrant's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General
Corporation Law, its directors shall not be personally liable for monetary
damages for breach of the directors' fiduciary duties as directors to the
Registrant and its stockholders. This provision in the Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation does not eliminate the directors' fiduciary duty,
and, in appropriate circumstances, equitable remedies such as injunctive or
other forms of non-monetary relief will remain under Delaware law. Further, each
director will continue to be subject to liability for breach of the director's
duty of loyalty to the Registrant, for acts or omissions not in good faith or
involving intentional misconduct or knowing violations of law, for acts or
omissions that the director believes to be contrary to the best interests of the
Registrant or its stockholders, for any transaction from which the director
derived an improper personal benefit, for acts or omissions involving a reckless
disregard for the director's duty to the Registrant or its stockholders when the
director was aware or should have been aware of a risk of serious injury to the
Registrant or its stockholders, for acts or omissions that constitute an
unexcused pattern of inattention that amounts to an abdication of the director's
duty to the Registrant or its stockholders, for improper transactions between
the director and the Registrant and for improper distributions to stockholders
and loans to directors and officers. This provision also does not affect a
director's responsibilities under any other laws, such as the federal securities
laws or state or federal environmental laws. In addition, the Registrant has
entered into contractual agreements with each of its directors and certain
officers of the Registrant designated by the Board to indemnify such individuals
to the fullest extent permitted by law.

ITEM 7.      EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

      Not applicable.

                                      II-2
4

ITEM 8.      EXHIBITS.
EXHIBIT
      NUMBER                                DESCRIPTION
     --------       ------------------------------------------------------------
4.1         1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

        5.1         Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., with
                    respect to the securities being registered.

       23.1         Consent of Independent Auditors.

       23.2         Consent of Counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1).

       24.1         Power of Attorney (see page II-4).
ITEM 9.      UNDERTAKINGS.

        A. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

               (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement.

               (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be
a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

               (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

        B. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an
employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

        C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise,
the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and
Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed
in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                      II-3
5

                                   SIGNATURES

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets
all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of Carlsbad, State of California, on this 31st day
of August 1999.

                                          DOCUMENT SCIENCES CORPORATION

                                          By: /s/ Barton L. Faber
                                              ----------------------------------
                                          Barton L. Faber, President and
                                          Chief Executive Officer

                                POWER OF ATTORNEY

      KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature
appears below constitutes and appoints Barton L. Faber and John H. Wilson,
jointly and severally, his or her attorneys-in-fact, each with the power of
substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments
to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 and to file the same, with exhibits
thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said
attorneys-in-fact, or their substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be
done by virtue hereof.

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature                                  Title                             Date
---------------------------      ---------------------------------------        ---------------
/s/ Barton L. Faber              President, Chief Executive Officer and         August 31, 1999
---------------------------      Director (Principal Executive Officer)
Barton L. Faber

/s/ John H. Wilson               Vice President, Finance                        August 31, 1999
---------------------------      (Principal Financial and Accounting
John H. Wilson                   Officer)

/s/ Thomas L. Ringer             Chairman of the Board of Directors             August 31, 1999
---------------------------
Thomas L. Ringer

/s/ Charles P. Holt              Director                                       August 31, 1999
---------------------------
Charles P. Holt

/s/ Colin J. O'Brien             Director                                       August 31, 1999
---------------------------
Colin J. O'Brien

/s/ Brian E. Stern               Director                                       August 31, 1999
---------------------------
Brian E. Stern
II-4
6

                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT
      NUMBER                            DESCRIPTION
     --------       ------------------------------------------------------------
4.1        1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

         5.1        Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., with
                    respect to the securities being registered.

        23.1        Consent of Independent Auditors.