How to sign a PDF on your computer or phone, for free

Printing a document, signing it with a pen and scanning it back takes ten minutes and gives you a blurry copy. Signing electronically takes one, and the result looks cleaner.

Sign a PDF yourself

1. Open Sign PDF and select your document.
2. Create your signature: draw it with a mouse, trackpad or finger; type your name and pick a handwriting style; upload a photo of your signature; or scan the QR code and sign on your phone’s touchscreen.
3. Drag the signature into place and resize it. Add today’s date if the document asks for it — and for initials, type them as a second signature and place that too.
4. Click Sign PDF and download the signed file.

You can choose to remember a signature in your browser so it’s ready next time.

Ask other people to sign

When someone else needs to sign — a client, a landlord, a colleague — use Request signatures. Place signature, name and date fields for up to six people, choose whether they must sign in order, and send each person their own link by email, WhatsApp or any chat app. You get a private status page that shows who has signed. When everyone has, download the finished PDF with a certificate page listing each signer’s name, the time they signed and their IP address. Requests are kept for 7 days.

Is an electronic signature legal?

In many places, including the United States (the ESIGN Act) and the European Union (eIDAS), a simple electronic signature is legally valid for most everyday agreements: rental contracts, consent forms, invoices, NDAs. Some documents — certain property deeds, wills, or official filings — may need a witness, a notary or a qualified digital signature. If you’re not sure, check what the organisation receiving the document accepts.

A signature on an otherwise editable document can be copied. For anything important, keep the version with the certificate page, and consider protecting the final PDF with Protect PDF.