Sign a PDF

Why sign a PDF this way

A lease, a permission slip for school, a delivery note or a quote that says sign and return: many PDFs only need your signature on the last page, and printing, signing and scanning them takes longer than reading them. This tool puts the signature straight into the file. Draw it with your mouse, a touchpad or your finger on a phone, type your name and get it in a handwriting-style font, or take a photo of your signature on white paper; the paper is made transparent so only the ink shows. Then pick the page, click where the signature belongs, for example on the line above your printed name, and choose its size and ink colour. You can add today's date below it. The signed PDF downloads straight away, and since everything runs in your browser, neither the document nor your signature is sent to a server or stored anywhere.

How to sign a PDF

1. Drop your PDF in the box, or click to choose it.
2. Draw your signature, type your name or choose a picture of it. The last page is shown; change the page number if the signature goes elsewhere.
3. Click on the page where the signature should go, then click Add signature and download the signed PDF.

What changes when you convert

A picture of a signature, not a digital certificate

The tool adds an image of your signature, which is what most everyday forms and agreements ask for when they say sign and return. It is not a certificate-based digital signature, which proves who signed and that nothing changed afterwards, and it is not a qualified electronic signature as defined in the EU eIDAS regulation. When a contract or an authority requires one of those, use a signing service or your national e-ID solution instead.

Already signed documents

If the PDF already carries a digital signature, adding anything to it changes the file, so that signature is no longer valid afterwards. The tool warns you when it finds one. Add your signature before the document is signed digitally, not after.

Typed names and fonts

A typed name is drawn with a handwriting-style font that is installed on your device, so it looks a little different on a Windows PC, a Mac and a phone. Like a drawn signature it is stored as a picture, so it cannot be selected or edited as text later.

Photos of a signature

Sign on plain white paper with a dark pen and take the photo in good light. Light pixels are made transparent and dark ones kept, so lined paper, shadows or a grey background can leave marks around the ink. Crop the photo close to the signature first if it shows more than the paper.

Form fields and encrypted files

The signature is placed on top of the page and does not fill a signature form field. Encrypted PDFs, even ones that open without a password but restrict editing, cannot be changed here; the tool says so instead of producing a broken file.