How to Sign a PDF Document Electronically

The steps are the same in almost every tool. Only the button names change.

PDFToolz eSign PDF works in any modern browser on a computer or phone, with no account or install. The PDF is processed on your device and is not uploaded, which matters for contracts, leases and forms with personal details.

There are three ways to make a signature. Draw writes it on a signature pad with your mouse, trackpad or finger. Type renders your name in a handwriting-style font. Upload uses a PNG or JPG of your ink signature. Then click the page where the signature should go and drag its corners to size it. Saved signatures are remembered in your browser for next time.

The signature is drawn into the page itself, not added as a movable comment, so it looks the same in every viewer. You can place it on as many pages as you need and add your printed name, initials and the date before you download.

Preview is built into every Mac and saves your signatures for reuse. You can capture a signature by signing on the trackpad with your finger, holding a signature written on white paper up to the camera or signing on a nearby iPhone or iPad.

On an iPhone or iPad, Markup in supported apps such as Files, Notes and Photos does the same job. Tap Markup, tap the Add button, then tap Add Signature. The iPhone saves your signature for next time.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is free to download and use, and its Fill & Sign tool lets you add a signature and save the signed file without a subscription. It is a good choice for forms that also need filling in, because Fill & Sign works on both fillable and flat forms.

Adobe also offers a free online signing tool. It works in any browser, but the file is uploaded to Adobe's servers, and some steps ask you to sign in. Adobe changes Acrobat's menus from time to time, so the button names below may differ slightly in your version.

All of these create an electronic signature, meaning your drawn, typed or image signature placed on the page. A certificate-based digital signature also needs a digital ID. Acrobat Reader can apply one with its certificate signing tool, but a digital ID that others will trust is usually issued by a certificate authority or trust service provider.

An electronic signature is any electronic mark you use with the intent to sign, such as a drawn signature, a typed name or a click on an I agree button. The tools above all make this kind. It shows intent, but the PDF itself doesn't prove who signed or whether it changed later.

A digital signature is a type of electronic signature that uses a certificate and cryptography. The PDF stores a signed hash of its content, so any later change shows up, and the certificate ties the signature to a verified identity. Use one when the other party, a regulator or a law asks for it. Our guide to digital vs electronic signatures covers how they work in detail.

In most cases, yes. In the US, the federal ESIGN Act of 2000 says a signature or contract can't be denied legal effect just because it is electronic. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), adopted by 49 states, says the same at state level. New York uses its own Electronic Signatures and Records Act instead. In practice, the signer must intend to sign, the parties must agree to deal electronically, and the signature must be attached to or linked with the record.

In the EU, the eIDAS Regulation, (EU) No 910/2014, says an electronic signature can't be denied legal effect or refused as evidence in court just because it is electronic. It sets three levels, called simple, advanced and qualified. Only a qualified electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten one in every member state.

Some documents are excluded. ESIGN does not cover wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, adoption, divorce and other family law matters, or court orders and official court documents. It also excludes certain notices, such as utility shutoffs, foreclosure or eviction from a primary home, cancellation of health or life insurance, and product recalls. Rules vary by country and state, so check with the recipient or a lawyer for high-stakes documents. This is general information, not legal advice.

Flattening turns form fields and comments into ordinary page content, so they look the same in every app and can't be edited. It matters when you filled in a form before signing, or when your signing tool added the signature as a movable annotation. Left unflattened, the answers can be changed or may not show in some viewers.

PDFToolz eSign PDF already draws the signature into the page, so the signature itself needs no flattening. Filled form fields still do. Run the signed file through Flatten PDF. The Form fields only mode fixes the answers into the page. Forms + annotations also bakes in comments and stamps, such as a signature another app added as an annotation.

Most signing issues have a quick fix.