Sign PDF Documents Online

How to sign a PDF — 3 steps

1. 1

   Add the document

   Drop the PDF in. It is opened in your browser, so a contract you are signing is not uploaded to a third party in the process.

2. 2

   Create and place your signature

   Draw it with a mouse or finger, type it, or place an image of your written signature. Position it on the signature line and size it to match.

3. 3

   Add the date and download

   Include the date and any printed name the document asks for, then export. Keep a copy of the signed file for your own records before sending it.

Electronic signatures and digital signatures are different things

The terms get used interchangeably and they describe two quite different mechanisms. An electronic signature is a mark you apply to a document to indicate agreement — a drawn or typed signature placed on the page. That is what most signing involves, and for the overwhelming majority of everyday documents it is what is expected and accepted.

A digital signature is a cryptographic operation. It uses a certificate issued to you to produce a mathematical seal over the document's contents, which lets any reader verify both who signed it and that not a byte has changed since. That verification is the point: it detects tampering, where a drawn signature cannot. It also requires obtaining a certificate from a recognised authority, which is why it is normally reserved for contexts that specifically demand it — certain regulated filings, some government submissions, and organisations with a formal signing policy.

In broad terms, electronic signatures are legally recognised in most jurisdictions, including under the ESIGN Act in the United States and eIDAS in the European Union, and are routinely accepted for employment contracts, leases, consent forms, invoices, and commercial agreements. But specific categories — wills, some property transfers, certain court and immigration documents — may still require wet ink or a notarised or certified signature. If the document is consequential, the sensible check is what the receiving party requires rather than what is technically possible.

Producing a signature that looks right and stays put

A drawn signature made with a mouse rarely looks like your own. A trackpad is a little better, and a finger or stylus on a touchscreen is better again. The most consistent approach is to sign a blank sheet of white paper in dark ink, photograph it in good even light, remove the background so the signature sits on transparency rather than a grey rectangle, and reuse that image. It matches your usual signature, scales cleanly, and looks the same on every document you apply it to.

Placement is worth a moment's care, since a signature straddling the line or overlapping the printed name reads as careless on a document meant to be formal. Size it to the space provided, sit it on the line rather than through it, and complete every field the document asks for — an unsigned date box or an empty printed-name line is a common reason a document comes back.

Once you are satisfied, flatten the file. Until it is flattened, a signature added as an annotation is a separate object that can be moved, edited, or deleted, and some viewers may not render it at all. Flattening merges it permanently into the page so the document looks identical everywhere and cannot be quietly altered. Then keep your own copy of the final signed version — if a dispute arises later, the file you sent is the record.

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