Sign a PDF without printing it or uploading it
Contracts, consent forms and delivery notes still arrive as PDFs that want a signature. This page lets you draw, type or upload your signature and place it on any page of a PDF, right in your browser. Put a date or a line of text next to it, then save the signed copy.
The signature becomes a picture on the page. It is not a digital certificate, so check that the person who asked for your signature accepts this kind.
Signing a PDF in seven steps
- Drop the PDF onto the drop zone or choose it. If the file is protected, enter its password so the tool can read the pages.
- Under Create your signature, pick Draw, Type or Upload.
- Draw with a mouse, a finger or a pen and use Undo last stroke when a line goes wrong. Or type your name and choose a style. Or upload a photo or scan of a signature on white paper and keep the white background transparent.
- Choose the ink color: black, blue or red.
- Go to the right page with the arrows or the page number and press Add signature to this page. Use Add to every page for initials.
- Drag the signature into place and pull the round handle in its corner to resize it. For a date, type it into the text field and press Add text. The cross removes an item.
- Press Sign and save PDF, then Download signed PDF.
What the saved file contains
The tool draws your signature as an image on top of the page and leaves everything else as it was: text, images, bookmarks and form fields. It does not fill in form fields. Pages that are stored turned, or that have a crop box, get the signature upright exactly where you put it on the screen.
Dates and other text are drawn as pictures too, so they cannot be selected or searched later. The file is saved without a password, and your original file stays untouched.
A picture of a signature is not a digital signature
A digital signature in the strict sense is tied to a certificate and shows whether the file changed afterward. What you create here is the visible kind, like a scanned signature. Anyone with a PDF editor can change the file after you saved it. Many everyday documents accept the visible kind, but some processes ask for a qualified electronic signature. If it matters, ask the recipient first.
Limits and small surprises
- A PDF may be up to 300 MB and 2,000 pages.
- The typed styles use handwriting fonts that are already on your device, and they differ between systems. If none is installed, the browser falls back to a generic script font.
- An uploaded picture may be up to 15 MB. A photo with shadows needs even light, or the shadow stays visible.
- Page previews come from a library that loads on demand. If it cannot load, you place items on a blank page of the right size.
- The signature is not stored anywhere. When you close the tab, it is gone and you draw it again next time.
Where your PDF and signature stay
On your device. The PDF is read and written in the page, the signature is drawn on a canvas in memory, and no request is sent while you work. You can confirm this in the Network panel of your developer tools. The signed file reaches you as a normal browser download.