How to sign a PDF without printing it
Photograph your signature on white paper, open the PDF in a signing tool, add the signature image, place it on the line and save. That electronic signature is accepted for most everyday forms and contracts. It is not a certificate-based digital signature, which some formal documents ask for.
Sign PDF places your signature image and saves a new copy, all in your browser. Sign PDF
Signing a PDF
- Sign a sheet of white paper in dark ink and photograph it from directly above.
- Crop the photo close to the signature.
- Open the PDF in Sign PDF and add the signature image.
- Click the signature line, then drag and resize the signature to fit it.
- Add the date with Add new text if the form asks for it, then save.
Getting a clean signature image
Dark ink on plain white paper, photographed in daylight with no shadow across it, gives the cleanest result. Crop it so only the signature and a small margin remain.
If you can, save it as a PNG with the background removed. It then sits on the page like ink rather than as a white box, which matters on forms with coloured or shaded boxes.
Is an electronic signature legal?
In England and Wales, the Law Commission confirmed in 2019 that an electronic signature can be used to sign most documents. In the United States, the ESIGN Act of 2000 gives electronic signatures the same effect as ink for most transactions, and in the EU the eIDAS regulation says an electronic signature cannot be refused as evidence just because it is electronic.
The exceptions are documents where the law asks for more, such as wills, some property transfers and anything that must be witnessed. If you are unsure, ask whoever sent the document what they accept.
Electronic signature or digital signature?
An electronic signature is any electronic sign that you agree, and a signature image on a PDF is the most common kind. A digital signature is a specific technology: a certificate that cryptographically proves who signed and that the file has not changed since. Some government and financial processes require the second kind; most forms and letters only need the first.
Keeping your signature safe
A signature image is a picture anyone could paste onto another document. Keep it on your own device, do not leave it in shared folders, and only add it to documents you mean to sign.
Questions people ask next
Can I sign a PDF on my phone?
Yes. Photograph your signature with the phone, then open the PDF in Sign PDF in the phone's browser and add the image.
Can I draw my signature instead of uploading one?
Not in this tool. It places an image of your signature, which usually looks more like your real signature than one drawn with a finger.
Is my signature uploaded?
No. The PDF and the signature image stay in your browser.
How do I stop someone moving my signature?
Flatten the pages on export. The signature becomes part of the page image and cannot be lifted off, though the text is no longer selectable.