Sign PDF Portable Document Format Free Online Secure
Draw your signature below, then drag a rectangle on the page where it should sit. Nothing is uploaded — and nothing is certified: this places a picture of your signature, not a cryptographic one.
Work on your PDF
Drop a PDF here, or choose one.
Your file never leaves this device. Everything runs in your browser.
Nothing uploaded
Where this comes from
Both of these were built into PDF almost from the start. Adobe added encryption in 1994, with version 1.1, and digital signatures in 1999, with version 1.3 — because a format meant to carry contracts, invoices and official forms had to answer two different questions. Encryption answers who may open this. A signature answers who stood behind it, and has anything changed since. They are often confused, and they protect against opposite things: a password keeps strangers out but says nothing about whether the text was altered; a signature says nothing about who can read it but breaks the moment a single character moves.
Where you need it
A payslip or a medical result emailed to the person it concerns; a tender document that must not be edited after submission; an invoice sent to a client who should be able to print it but not change the amount; a lease that both sides sign without printing it; an internal report circulated outside the company network. The commonest real case is the plainest one: a scanned statement sent by email, with a password agreed by telephone.
Questions people ask
Is a password-protected PDF actually secure?
That depends on which password, and how good it is. PDF has two: a user password, without which the file will not open at all, and an owner password, which merely asks readers not to print or copy — most programs honour that request, and the ones that do not can ignore it entirely. So only the user password is real protection, and even then the file is only as strong as the word chosen: a short or guessable one is cracked by trying millions of candidates, which costs nothing. Pick something long, and never send it in the same message as the file.
Is a signature I draw with the mouse legally binding?
Often yes, but it is not the same thing as a cryptographic signature, and the difference matters. A drawn signature is a picture of a signature: in many countries it is enough for an ordinary contract, because what the law usually asks is evidence of intent to sign. A cryptographic signature does something a picture cannot — it is computed from the file's own contents, so it proves the document has not been altered by a single character since it was signed, and in the EU a qualified one carries the same weight as ink by law. For a quotation, a drawing is fine. For anything that could be disputed, it is not.
Does the file lose quality?
It depends on what the two formats can hold. Converting between formats that store the same thing — a PNG to a BMP, a WAV to a FLAC — loses nothing. Converting into a format that throws information away to save space, such as JPEG or MP3, loses a little every time, and converting back does not bring it back. Where a choice exists, this page errs towards keeping the original quality rather than making the smallest file.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion happens inside your browser, on your own machine; the file never leaves it and there is no server here that could receive it. That is why a large file is limited by your own memory rather than by an upload, and why nothing you convert can appear in anybody's logs — including ours. The audio and video tools do fetch their conversion engine from this site the first time you use them, some thirty megabytes once; after that the work still happens entirely on your machine.
Why people sign PDF files
Somebody emails you a contract, a form, a consent letter or an agreement, and asks you to sign it and send it back. In the old days that meant printing it, signing with a pen, scanning the page and emailing the scan: a half-hour chore, and a trip to a printer you may not own. Today, most people prefer to sign a PDF on screen. You draw your signature, place it on the page where it belongs and send the file back in a minute. That is why this need comes up so often: signing is one of the most common things people do to a PDF, and the whole job should be as quick as signing on paper.
The reasons are everyday. A tenancy agreement needs your signature before the landlord hands over the keys. A school form needs a parent's mark. A work contract needs to be signed and returned today. A delivery note needs to be countersigned. Whatever the case, you have a PDF, you have a signature, and you want the one on the other. That is what this page does.
This page lets you sign PDF files entirely in your browser. The document is not uploaded to a server, which matters for contracts, medical forms and anything with personal data. Below you will find how to place your signature, and an honest account of what it is and what it is not, because there is an important difference between a picture of a signature and a certified digital one.
How to place your signature
Draw it
You draw your signature in a box on the page, with a mouse, a trackpad, a finger or a stylus. A touchscreen makes this easiest: a phone or tablet lets you sign in a natural movement, much like writing with a pen. If your first attempt looks wrong, clear it and draw again until you are happy with it.
Drag a rectangle where it should sit
Once you have a signature you like, you drag a rectangle on the page to show where it should go. You choose the page and the spot: on the line above the printed name, in the signature box of a form, at the end of a letter. The signature is placed inside the rectangle you drew, and it keeps the proportions of what you drew, so it is not squashed or stretched.
Getting the size right
A signature that is too large looks odd and may cover printed text; one that is too small can be hard to read. A good rule is to make the rectangle about the size of the space left for a signature on a paper form, with a little room to spare. The preview shows how it will look before you finish.
What is kept
Everything already in the PDF
When you sign a PDF here, everything already in the document is kept. The signature is added over the page you chose, and nothing else is changed. The text in the document stays text, so it remains selectable and searchable, and the pages, pictures and layout are exactly as they were.
Scanned pages
If the page is a scan, a photograph of a printed sheet, the signature is drawn over the picture, not into any text. This works perfectly well for scanned forms: the signature appears on the line, as if you had signed the paper. It is simply drawn on top of the image.
What this is, and what it is not
Not a digital signature
This is the part to read carefully. What this page places on your PDF is a picture of your signature. It is not a digital signature, in the technical sense that the word has. It carries no certificate, it proves nothing about who drew it and it does not seal the file against later changes. Anyone who has the file could copy the picture of your signature and put it on another document. In that sense, it is no more secure than the signature on a scanned piece of paper.
When a picture of a signature is enough
For a great many everyday purposes, a picture of a signature is exactly what is asked for: a form that needs your name on a line, an informal agreement between people who trust each other, a consent note, a permission slip, a delivery receipt. Where the other side only wants to see that you have signed, and is not relying on cryptography to prove it, this is quick and fully adequate.
When you need a real digital signature
A signature that a bank, a court or a government office will verify has to be made with a private key, tied to a certificate that identifies you, and the file must be sealed so any later change shows. No web page can do that for you, and a picture cannot stand in for it. If a document requires a qualified electronic signature, use a service or a signing tool provided for that purpose by the party that requires it.
How to know which one you need
Read the instructions that came with the document. If they say "sign and return", "signed copy", "scan and send" or "sign electronically" without mentioning certificates, a picture of your signature is generally fine. If they mention a "qualified electronic signature", a "digital certificate" or a specific signing platform, you need that, not this.
Signing on a phone, a tablet or a computer
Where you sign makes a difference to how natural the result looks. On a phone or tablet, you can draw with a fingertip or a stylus and get a signature that closely resembles your pen signature, because your hand makes the same movements. On a computer with a trackpad, it is a little harder, and with a mouse harder still; the lines come out stiff and the loops uneven. If you have the choice, sign PDF files on a touchscreen.
If you only have a computer, there is a trick: draw slowly, in larger strokes than usual, and accept a signature that looks a little more deliberate than your hand-written one. It will be scaled down into the rectangle on the page, which smooths out wobbles. And if the result looks poor, clear and try again; the page lets you redraw as often as you like before you commit.
Left-handed signers and smudges
On a touchscreen, resting the side of your hand on the glass can create stray marks. Rest your hand lightly, or hold the device so that your wrist is clear. A clean signature is easier to achieve in a few quick tries than in one careful one, so do not hesitate to clear the box and start over.
Where signatures go on a page
Forms and contracts usually leave a line or a box for the signature, often with the printed name beneath it and sometimes a date. Place your signature so that it sits on the line, not below it, and does not cover the printed name. A signature that touches the line looks like a normal signature; one floating above it looks pasted on.
Many documents need more than one signature: a mark on the last page and initials on each page, or signatures from several parties on different lines. When you sign PDF files that need several marks, you can place more than one signature by repeating the process on the finished file, choosing each page and each spot in turn. Check each page afterwards, because it is easy to miss one.
Dates and printed names
This page places your signature; it does not type text. If the form needs a date or a printed name that is not already there, add it in the program that produced the document before you convert it to PDF, or fill in a form field first with a PDF reader. Then sign PDF files last, so the signature is the final addition.
Signing and then sharing
After you sign a PDF, think about where the file will go. A picture of your signature can be copied by anyone who receives the file, so send signed documents only to the people who need them, and not to public places. If the recipient asks for a copy to be shared more widely, consider sending a version without the signature, or a version marked with a watermark that says what it is for.
It is also worth keeping a copy of what you signed. Save the signed PDF under a clear name, with the date and the other party, so that you can find it later if there is a dispute. A signed document that you cannot find when you need it is no use to you, however easy it was to sign.
Protecting the signed file
If the signed document is sensitive, such as a contract with financial terms, you can add a password to it before you send it, so that only the intended person can open it. The password has to be shared separately, through a different channel such as a phone call, to be worth anything.
How to sign PDF files here
Add your PDF
Drop the PDF onto the page or pick it from your device. It is read inside your browser and is not uploaded.
Draw your signature
Sign in the box below the page. Clear and redo it if you are not happy.
Place it and finish
Drag a rectangle where the signature should go, press the button and download the signed PDF. Open it and check that the signature sits where it should and is clearly readable.
Tips for a good result
Sign slowly and large
Draw your signature a little larger than you think you need, and take your time. The result is scaled into the rectangle, and a signature drawn big scales down more cleanly than one drawn small scales up.
Use a stylus or finger if you can
A mouse makes signatures stiff. A finger on a touchscreen, or a stylus, gives a result much closer to your pen signature.
Check the page before sending
Make sure the signature is on the right page, on the right line and does not cover any text. A mis-placed signature can cause the other side to send the document back.
Questions people ask before signing
Is this a legal signature?
It is a picture of your signature. Whether it is accepted depends on what the other side requires. For informal and many ordinary documents, it is. For documents needing a certified digital signature, it is not.
Can someone copy my signature from the file?
Yes. It is a picture, and anyone who has the file can copy it. Do not sign documents you would not be comfortable sharing, and be careful about who you send signed copies to.
Is my document uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser and the file never leaves your device.
Can I sign a scanned page?
Yes. The signature is drawn over the picture of the page.
Who signs PDF files
Tenants, employees and customers
Contracts and agreements arrive as PDFs and need to go back signed, quickly.
Parents and students
School forms and permission slips need a signature and are easily signed on a phone.
Freelancers and small businesses
Quotes, delivery notes and simple agreements are signed and returned in minutes.
Common mistakes
Assuming it is a certified signature
It is a picture. Check what the other side requires.
Placing the signature on the wrong line
Check the page and position before sending.
Signing a document that will still change
The file is not sealed, so edits are still possible afterwards. Sign when the document is final.
Related tools
Before you sign, put the pages in order with merge PDF, drop what is not needed with remove pages from PDF and turn pages upright with rotate PDF. After signing, you can protect the PDF with a password, add a watermark such as COPY, or compress it for email. If your document starts as Word, convert DOCX to PDF first.
When to sign PDF files this way, and when not to
Placing a picture of your signature is right for the everyday documents that only need to show you have signed: forms, consent notes, informal agreements, delivery receipts and many contracts between parties who trust each other. It is the wrong choice when the other side requires a certified digital signature, for example a bank, a court, a tax office or a regulated contract, where a picture will be rejected and a proper signing service is needed.
For the common cases it is quick, private and dependable to sign PDF files in the browser. Your original is never changed, so you can come back and sign PDF files again, on a different page or in a different spot, whenever you like.
Large documents and slow devices
Everything runs on your own device, so very large PDFs depend on its memory. A contract of twenty pages is no trouble. A very large scan may be slow on an older phone. If it struggles, give the browser a moment and avoid switching to other apps while it works. If only one page needs a signature, you can extract it, sign it and send it, though most recipients prefer the complete document.
Checking the result properly
After you sign a PDF, open the result at normal zoom and look at the page with the signature. Check that it sits on the line, that it is clearly readable and that it does not cover any text. Scroll through the rest of the document to confirm that nothing else changed. If the placement is off, go back to the original and sign PDF files again with a better rectangle.
A simple routine to sign PDF files well
Read the document in full before you sign anything. Put the pages in order and turn any sideways page upright. Sign PDF files only when the content is final, because the file is not sealed and later edits are possible. Draw your signature, place it on the line, check the page and download the result. Send it to the person who needs it, and keep a copy under a clear name. This routine takes a few minutes, and it works whether you sign PDF files once a year or every day.
Your document stays on your device
The signing happens locally. Your PDF is read by your own browser, your signature is drawn and placed there and the file is handed back. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no copy on a server and no one else who could see the contents. For contracts and personal forms, that is the safe way to sign PDF files.
A worked example
Say a landlord emails a two-page tenancy agreement and asks you to sign page two and send it back today. You open the PDF here on your phone, draw your signature with your finger and drag a rectangle over the signature line on page two. You press the button and download the signed PDF. You check that the signature sits on the line and that nothing else changed, then you email the file back. The whole thing takes about two minutes, without a printer.
Sign PDF: a short recap
To sign PDF files with this page, you draw your signature, drag a rectangle and download the result. When you sign PDF documents this way, you place a picture of your signature, which is perfect for everyday forms and informal agreements. Before you sign PDF documents that will be printed, consider adding page numbers with the page numbering tool, so every page is accounted for. If you sign PDF files often, keep a note of where you saved the signed copies. And whenever you sign PDF files that need a certified signature, remember that a picture will not do: use the signing service the other side requires. In short, sign PDF files here for speed and convenience, and use proper digital signatures for anything a bank or court will check.
Before you close the page
Check that you downloaded the signed PDF, that the signature is on the right page and line, and that you understand it is a picture of a signature, not a certified one.
Summary
To sign PDF files here, drop the file, draw your signature, drag a rectangle where it should sit and download the result. Everything already in the PDF is kept, and text stays text. This places a picture of your signature, not a digital signature: it carries no certificate, proves nothing about who drew it and does not seal the file against later changes. A signature that a bank or a court will verify must be made with a private key. Nothing leaves your device.