How to sign a PDF
- Click the yellow area and pick the PDF, or drag the file onto the page.
- Create your signature: draw it, type your name or use a photo of a signature on paper (see below).
- Click Place signature. It appears on the highlighted page; drag it into place and use the blue corner to make it bigger or smaller.
- If needed, add today’s date and text such as your full name, ID number or city.
- Click Download signed PDF.
The three ways to create your signature:
- Draw: sign in the white box with the mouse, a stylus or your finger on a phone.
- Type: write your name and pick one of the handwriting styles.
- Photo: sign on white paper, take a photo and choose the image. The paper disappears and only the ink stays.
To initial every page of a contract, tick Add to every page before placing the signature.
What it’s for
- Signing rental agreements, service contracts and proposals without printing, signing by hand and scanning.
- Returning forms, permission slips and declarations for school, your building or work.
- Signing receipts, quotes and delivery forms.
- Initialing every page of a long document at once.
Electronic signature or digital certificate?
This tool creates a simple electronic signature: an image of your signature placed on the document, as if you had signed the paper. It’s accepted in most everyday situations between people and businesses that agree to it. In the United States and the European Union, simple electronic signatures are generally recognized by law (ESIGN Act and eIDAS), with some exceptions.
Some documents require a digital signature with a certificate, which proves the signer’s identity cryptographically. That’s common for government filings, notarized documents and some court and banking processes. For those, use the certificate-based service the recipient asks for.
When in doubt, ask whoever will receive the document which kind of signature they accept.
Your document never leaves your device
Signing websites usually upload your document to their servers. Here, the PDF is opened, signed and saved by your own browser. Contracts, personal documents and your signature never leave your computer or phone, and nothing is kept after you close the page. No sign-up and no watermark.
Tips for a good-looking signature
- On a phone, turn it sideways for more room and sign calmly without lifting your finger.
- For a photo, use a thick blue or black pen, white paper and good light with no shadow over it.
- Size: on a regular signature line, a signature is about 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide.
- Color: contracts are often signed in blue to tell the signature apart from the printed text.
Frequently asked questions
Is my signature saved on the site?
No. Nothing is uploaded or stored. If you close the page, you’ll need to draw it again.
Can I edit the PDF’s text?
No. The tool adds a signature, date and text on top of the pages, without changing the existing content.
Does it work with password-protected PDFs?
PDFs that ask for a password to open need the protection removed first.
I only need to sign some pages and send them separately. How?
Sign here, then use split PDF to extract the pages. To combine the signed document with others, use merge PDF.