Tools / Sign PDF
Sign a PDF
Put your signature on a PDF without printing it.
- This tool has no upload step
- This browser-only engine does not send your file
- Every tool driven in a browser each release
Choose a PDF
or drop them here
How it works
- Add the PDF you need to sign.
- Add an image or signature is already chosen: pick a photo or scan of your signature.
- Click where the signature goes, then drag and resize it to sit on the line.
- Save. A new PDF is written with your signature on the page, and your original is left as it was.
Getting a signature that looks signed
A signature image that is badly photographed looks pasted on. Two minutes with paper and a phone camera fixes it.
Sign on plain white paper, in dark ink
A black or dark blue pen on white paper gives the cleanest edge. Lined paper leaves lines behind, and a pale pen fades into the page.
Photograph it flat, in daylight
Hold the phone directly above the paper so the signature is not stretched, and avoid your own shadow across it.
Crop close before you add it
Trim the image to the signature with a little space around it. A large white rectangle covers text on the page.
Put it on the line, not across it
Drag the image until the bottom of the signature sits on the signature line, and shrink it to the size you would actually sign at.
Flatten if it must stay put
Choosing Flatten every page on export makes the signature part of the page picture, so it cannot be lifted off, at the cost of the text no longer being selectable.
Where this is the wrong tool. This places a picture of your signature. It does not add a cryptographic digital signature, so it cannot prove to a machine who signed or that nothing changed afterwards. If a document asks for a digital signature or a signing certificate, you need a service that issues one.
When the browser is not enough
Scanly for Android
Take document-scanning workflows to your Android phone with Scanly. See the Google Play listing for current features, requirements and data-processing information.
Questions
Is this a legally valid signature?
It is an electronic signature: a picture of your handwritten signature placed on the document. For most everyday forms and contracts, electronic signatures are accepted in the UK, the EU and the US. Some documents, such as wills and certain property deeds, still need ink or a witness, so check when the document is a formal one.
Is this the same as a digital signature?
No. A digital signature is a cryptographic certificate that proves who signed and that nothing changed afterwards. This places a visible signature image, which is what most forms and letters ask for, but it adds no certificate.
How do I get my signature as an image?
Sign a sheet of white paper in dark ink, photograph it in good light and crop it close. A PNG with a transparent background looks best, and a tightly cropped JPG works too.
Can I add the date and my printed name?
Yes. Switch the mode to Add new text and click beside the signature to type them.
Do my files get uploaded?
No. The PDF and your signature image are opened and written in this page, in your browser. There is no upload step.
Is signing free?
Yes. It uses the same free daily allowance as Edit PDF and Fill a form.
Reading on this
Looking for a particular form?
- Official tax and government forms 22 forms from the IRS, the CRA and Revenue, checked against their source
- Fill a PDF form when the PDF has real fields, filling them beats typing over them