How do I sign a PDF for free?

Load the PDF into the tool, choose Create signature, then draw, type or upload your signature. Tap the page where it goes, drag or resize it, add the date if needed, and press Download signed PDF. There is no account, watermark or page limit.

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. The PDF is opened, signed and saved inside your browser tab. Nothing is sent to a server, and the tool keeps working if you disconnect from the internet after the page loads.

Is an electronic signature added this way legally binding?

In the US, the ESIGN Act and UETA generally give electronic signatures the same effect as handwritten ones when the signer intends to sign and the parties agreed to deal electronically. Some documents require a certificate-based, witnessed or wet-ink signature. This is general information, not legal advice; check what the recipient accepts.

What is the difference between an electronic signature and a digital signature?

An electronic signature here is an image of your signature placed on the page. A digital signature uses a certificate to cryptographically seal the file, so a PDF reader can show who signed and detect later changes. This tool creates the first kind, not the second.

How do I add a signature to a PDF on iPhone?

Open this page in Safari, tap Choose PDF and pick the file from Files. Draw your signature with your finger, tap the page to place it and download. You can also open the PDF in the Files app, tap Markup, then + and Add Signature.

How do I add my initials to every page?

Create your initials, place them on one page, select them and press Copy to every page. Each copy can then be moved individually if a page needs a different position.

Why does Adobe say "At least one signature has problems" after I signed?

The PDF already contained a certificate-based digital signature. Any change to the file, including adding a visual signature, makes that earlier signature fail validation. The tool warns you when it detects one; sign in the same software the first signer used if it must stay valid.

Can I sign a password-protected PDF?

Not directly. Open the PDF with its password in your PDF reader, save an unprotected copy, and load that copy into the tool.

Sign a PDF Online Free - No Upload, No Signup

How to sign a PDF online for free, without uploading it

Load the PDF into the box above, create your signature once, tap the page where it goes, and press Download signed PDF. You can draw the signature with a mouse, finger or stylus, type your name and pick a handwriting style, or upload a photo of your signature on paper. The same panel adds your initials, today’s date, a check mark or any short line of text, so a lease, consent form or engagement letter can be finished in one pass.

Your file is not uploaded. The PDF is opened with the browser’s own file API, the pages are drawn with a JavaScript PDF renderer, and the signature is written into the file by a PDF library running in this tab. There is no server step and no account. Once the page has loaded you can disconnect from the network and it still works, which is the quickest way to confirm that nothing is being sent anywhere. That matters for the documents people actually sign: employment contracts, medical intake forms, tax authorisations and anything containing a Social Security number or bank details.

Step by step

Choose the PDF. Drag it onto the drop zone or tap Choose PDF. Every page is shown, rendered as it will print.
Create your signature. Press Create signature and pick Draw, Type or Upload. Drawn signatures are trimmed to the ink and saved with a transparent background, so they sit on the signature line instead of covering it with a white box.
Place it. Tap or click the spot on the page. The signature drops in centred on that point. Drag it to adjust, and use the square handle on the corner to make it larger or smaller; the proportions are kept.
Add the date and initials. Add date stamps today’s date in the format you choose (MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, ISO or written out). Add initials works like the signature. If a contract needs initials on every page, place them once and press Copy to every page.
Download. The signed file is saved as yourfile-signed.pdf. Open it and check every page before you send it.

How to sign a PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

This page works the same in any modern browser, so the steps above apply on every device. Each platform also has a built-in or free route, and it is worth knowing them.

Windows

In the browser: open this page in Edge, Chrome or Firefox, load the PDF and follow the steps above. A mouse signature looks better if you draw it larger than you need and shrink it on the page.
Microsoft Edge’s PDF viewer has a Draw tool. You can ink a signature freehand and save the file, but there is no saved signature, no resize after drawing and no date stamp.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) has Fill & Sign: choose Sign, then Add signature, and type, draw or import an image.

Mac

Preview is built in. Open the PDF, click the Markup button to show the toolbar, click the Sign button and create a signature with the trackpad, the camera (hold a signed sheet of white paper up to it) or a connected iPhone. Preview keeps the signature for next time.
In the browser: Safari, Chrome and Firefox all run this tool. It is the quicker route when you also need a date stamp, initials on every page or a check mark.

iPhone and iPad

Files or Mail: open the PDF, tap the Markup (pen) button, tap +, then Add Signature. Draw it with your finger and drag it onto the line.
In Safari: open this page, tap Choose PDF and pick the file from Files, iCloud Drive or a download. Draw the signature with your finger; the drawing box is made for touch. The signed file goes to your Downloads folder in Files, from where you can share it to Mail or Messages.

Android

In Chrome: open this page, tap Choose PDF, then draw your signature with your finger. Tap the page to place it and drag the corner handle to resize. The signed PDF is saved to Downloads.
Adobe Acrobat Reader for Android offers Fill & Sign if you prefer an app. Android has no PDF signing feature built into the system.

Drawn, typed or uploaded: which signature looks right?

Method	Best for	Tip
Draw	Phones, tablets and stylus users	Draw large and fast; a slow signature looks shaky when it is shrunk.
Type	Desktop users with only a mouse	The handwriting styles use fonts already on your device, so the same choice looks different on Windows, a Mac and a phone.
Upload	The closest match to your real signature	Sign a white sheet in dark ink and photograph it in daylight. Leave Remove white background ticked so the paper disappears.

Is a signature added this way legally valid?

This tool creates a visual electronic signature: an image of your signature, plus any date or text, drawn onto the page. In the United States the ESIGN Act and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), adopted by most states, say a signature cannot be denied legal effect just because it is electronic, provided the signer intends to sign and the parties have agreed to deal electronically. Most everyday agreements, from leases to permission slips, are signed this way. In the EU, the eIDAS regulation calls this a simple electronic signature.

It is not a certificate-based digital signature. A digital signature uses a certificate to seal the file cryptographically, so a PDF reader can show who signed and whether anything changed afterwards. A visual signature carries no such proof. Some documents, such as certain government filings, notarised documents, wills and some real-estate and court paperwork, require a certificate-based, witnessed or wet-ink signature, and some organisations simply insist on one. This is general information, not legal advice: if it matters, ask the person or organisation receiving the document what they accept.

If the PDF is already digitally signed

Adding anything to a PDF rewrites it, so any certificate-based signature already in the file stops validating, and Adobe Acrobat will show the warning “At least one signature has problems”. The tool checks for an existing digital signature when you load the file and warns you. If that earlier signature has to stay valid, add yours with the same software the first signer used, which can append it as an incremental update.

Limits and troubleshooting

Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened. Open the file in your PDF reader with the password, save an unprotected copy and load that.
Text you type with Add text uses the standard PDF Helvetica font, which covers English and Western European languages. Characters outside it, such as Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic or emoji, are reported instead of being dropped silently. A typed or drawn signature has no such limit, because it is saved as an image.
Form fields stay fillable. Signing does not flatten the document. If you also need to fill the form, fill it first with the PDF Form Filler, then sign the result.
Large files are held in the tab’s memory. Very large scans can be slow on a phone; compress them first if the page struggles.
Rotated pages are handled: the signature is written so it appears upright on the page as you see it.

Sign PDF