How to sign a PDF
- Drop the document. Its pages are rendered so you can see where you're signing.
- Make your signature. Draw it with a finger or mouse, type your name, or upload a photo of a signature on paper.
- Drag it into place, then save. Size it with the slider and nudge it with the arrow keys if you want it exact.
Signing without printing
The print-sign-scan ritual exists because signing on screen used to be awkward. It costs you a printer, a scanner, ten minutes, and a document that comes back looking like a photocopy of a photocopy. Drawing straight onto the page keeps the original crisp and takes about fifteen seconds.
Drawing with a fingertip on a phone gets closer to your real signature than a mouse ever will, so use the phone when the look of the result matters. Typed signatures suit internal sign-offs where nobody is comparing it to anything.
What this is, and what it isn't
This places a picture of your signature on the page. For the vast majority of documents that pass between people, that is exactly what is being asked for, and it is what the well-known signing websites give you as well. It is not a certificated digital signature, the cryptographic kind that proves who signed and detects later tampering. Those need a certificate authority, and no browser tool can conjure one.
Once signed, flatten the document if it also contains form fields, and if the file is heading for an upload portal with a size cap, compress it afterwards.
Common uses for signing PDFs
- Sign a contract: return a signed agreement without printing a page.
- Sign a rental or job offer: draw it on a phone and send it back within the minute.
- Approve an invoice: add a signature and a date to a document going back to finance.
- Sign a permission slip: the school form, done on the sofa instead of at a printer.
Frequently asked questions
How do I sign a PDF online?
Drop the document, then make your signature by drawing it, typing your name, or uploading a photo of one you signed on paper. Drag it onto the page where it belongs, size it, and save.
Is this a legally binding signature?
It is an image of your signature drawn onto the page, which is what most agreements, letters and internal approvals actually ask for, and it is what the big-name web tools produce too. It is not a cryptographic digital signature with a certificate behind it. If a contract explicitly demands a qualified or certificated e-signature, you need a certificate authority, not a drawing tool.
Can I sign on my phone?
That's the best way to do it. Draw with a fingertip on the pad, then drag the signature into place. Both work by touch.
My uploaded signature has a white box around it.
Photos of paper come with the paper attached. The tool drops near-white pixels automatically, so most photos come out clean. Strong shadows can defeat that, in which case a photo taken in flatter light, or drawing it directly, does better.
Is my document uploaded to sign it?
No, and your signature isn't either. Both stay in the browser tab. A signature is about as personal as a document gets, and there's no reason to hand one to a stranger's server.