How to sign a PDF without printing it

Open Sign PDF

You don’t need a printer and a scanner to sign a form. You can place your signature directly on the PDF from a phone or computer, then save it and send it back.

Sign your PDF

Open Sign PDF and add your document.
Choose how to make your signature: draw it, type your name, or use a picture of it.
Press Place signature, go to the right page, and drag it where it belongs.
Drag a corner to make it fit the line. Add the date or any other words with Add date and Add text.
Save the signed PDF and open it to check the result.

Which kind of signature should you use?

Draw is the quickest if you’re on a phone or have a touch screen: use a finger or a stylus. With a mouse it can look shaky.

Picture gives the most natural result. Sign a sheet of white paper, take a photo in good light, and use that. Keep Make white see-through ticked so only the ink shows on the page, not a white box.

Type turns your name into a handwriting-style signature. It’s fine for informal documents, but it looks less like a real signature.

Writing across a document

Some applications ask for a line written across a copy of an ID, such as “for this application only”. PressAdd text, type the words, then use the bar above the text to set the size, colour and see-through, and drag the round handle to turn it. The Angle list has 45° and vertical ready to choose.

Is it legally valid?

A signature placed this way is an electronic signature: a picture of your signature on the document, much like signing a printout and scanning it. Many everyday agreements accept that.

It isn’t a certificate-based digital signature, which proves who signed and that nothing changed afterwards. Some contracts and government forms require that kind. If you’re not sure, ask whoever needs the signature before you send it.

Is your signature kept anywhere?

No. It exists only in your browser tab while you work and in the PDF you download. Nothing is stored or sent. A signed PDF can still be copied, though, so take care who you send it to.

If the form has boxes to fill in

If the PDF has real form fields, Fill PDF Form types into them for you. Fill it in first, then sign the saved file. For a form with no fields, you can place your answers as text here in Sign PDF, or inEdit PDF.