Three ways to make your signature
- Draw: sign with the mouse, a touchpad, a stylus or your finger on a phone. The line follows the speed of your hand, so it looks like ink.
- Type: type your name and choose one of seven handwriting fonts. Names in non-Latin alphabets use a font from your system.
- Upload: sign a white sheet of paper, take a photo or scan, and upload it. The white background is removed (you can adjust how much) and the image is trimmed, so only the ink appears on the document.
If you tick the option to remember it, your signature or initials are saved in this browser for next time, up to 12 of them. They are stored only on your device, in the browser's local storage, and you can delete one or all of them at any time.
Signature, initials and date
Many contracts must be initialled on every page and signed on the last one. Create your initials separately, place them on one page and copy them to all other pages in one step. Add today's date puts the date on the page in a long, short or ISO format, and the format you chose is remembered. The Text tool adds your printed name, a place or any other words. Everything can be moved, resized and deleted until you save, and Undo works for every step.
Is an electronic signature legally valid?
This tool creates a visual electronic signature: an image of your signature placed on the page. In many countries and for many everyday documents this kind of signature is accepted, for example for rental agreements, delivery confirmations, school forms or internal approvals. Laws such as the ESIGN Act in the USA and the eIDAS regulation in the European Union recognize simple electronic signatures in general.
It is not a digital certificate signature. It does not contain a cryptographic certificate that proves who signed and that the file was not changed afterwards. Some documents need such a qualified or advanced signature, for example certain contracts with public authorities or notarial documents. If you are not sure, ask the person or office that asked for your signature which kind they accept.
Your document and your signature stay private
The PDF is opened and signed inside your browser. Neither the document nor your signature is uploaded to our server. This matters for signatures: an image of your signature is personal data, and here it never leaves your device.
Tips for signing PDF files
- Zoom in to place the signature exactly on the signature line.
- A signature drawn with a finger on a phone usually looks more natural than one drawn with a mouse.
- For an upload, use dark ink on plain white paper and take the photo in good light.
- If the PDF has a form with fields to fill in, complete them first with the PDF Form Filler, then sign.
- To add other content, such as a stamp image or drawings, use the full PDF editor, which has a signature tool too.
- To stop further changes after signing, you can add a password with Protect PDF.