Add a Signature to a PDF

How to add a signature to a PDF, step by step

1. Open the PDF in the editor above. Drop the file on the dashed box or click it to browse. The editor first checks that it can write to the file; password-protected PDFs are flagged at this point, not after you have signed.
2. Create the signature in one of the ways described below and confirm it with Use This Signature. Signatures you made before in this browser are offered under Saved Signatures.
3. Click or tap the signature line. The signature appears there in a frame. Drag the frame to move it; drag its lower-right corner to resize.
4. Repeat where needed. Every further click places another copy, on this page or, after Next, on the following ones.
5. Finish the form with Add Initials, Add Date and Add Text, and fill any form fields listed in the left panel.
6. Download with Confirm & Download Signed PDF. You get a new file; the original is not changed. Downloading requires a plan.

Three ways to create the signature

Draw it

The Draw tab gives you a white signing box. A finger on a phone, a stylus on a tablet or a touchscreen laptop gives the most natural result; with a mouse, sign slowly and larger than needed. Clear empties the box. Choose black, blue or red before you start, because switching the color resets the box.

Type it

On the Type tab you enter your name and choose between four handwriting styles (Elegant, Formal, Casual and Flowing). The preview shows each style with your own name. This is the quickest option on a laptop touchpad and gives the same look on every document.

Insert an image of your real signature

If you want the signature you write by hand, put it on paper and add it as a picture:

1. Sign in the middle of a sheet of plain white paper with a dark, fairly thick pen.
2. Photograph it straight from above in even light, without shadows, or scan it.
3. Crop the photo close to the signature. If you can, remove the background so the PNG is transparent.
4. In the editor, reach the placing step, click Add Photo and choose the image (PNG, JPEG or WebP).
5. Drag it onto the line and resize it with the corner handle.

Drawn and typed signatures are saved with a transparent background, so the line underneath stays visible. A JPEG photo keeps its white paper background and covers whatever is below it, which is why a transparent PNG looks better.

Add your initials and the date too

Leases and contracts often ask for initials on every page and a date next to the signature. Click Add Initials, type them, and they appear in capitals in your signature color. Add Date opens a date picker set to today and writes the date out with the month name. Both start in the middle or at the bottom of the page, so drag each one onto its line. Add Text covers the rest, such as your printed name.

Problems people run into

• White box around the signature. That is the paper background of a JPEG or non-transparent PNG. Use a transparent PNG, or draw or type the signature instead.
• Signature too big or too small. Resize it with the corner handle after placing; the first size is only a starting point.
• Placed on the wrong page. Remove it with the × (or Undo), switch pages and click again. The Placed Items list shows the page of every item.
• Clicking the page places nothing. The signature has not been confirmed yet. Press Use This Signature (or pick a saved one) and click again.
• The file is refused. Password-protected or damaged PDFs cannot be written. Open the file, print it to a new PDF (“Save as PDF” or “Microsoft Print to PDF”) and use that copy.
• The image signature looks blurry or gray. The photo was too small, too dark or taken at an angle. Sign again with a thick black or dark blue pen, photograph or scan it straight on in good light, crop it close and save it as a PNG. Make it smaller on the page rather than larger.
• Filled-in answers look empty in another app. Some apps save form answers without redrawing the fields, so the next viewer shows blanks. Answers typed in the editor’s Form Fields panel are written into the page itself (“flattened”): they look the same in every viewer but can no longer be edited as fields. On the rare PDF where flattening fails, the fields are saved still fillable.
• Acrobat says a signature’s validity is unknown, or you are asked for a “digital ID”. Both are about certificate-based digital signatures. SigPDF adds a visible signature and does not create certificate signatures. If the recipient really needs one, see how to digitally sign a PDF with a certificate.

Other ways to add a signature to a PDF

Your computer or phone may already have a tool for this. Here is what each one offers, according to its maker’s help pages.

Checked on the Apple, Microsoft, Adobe and Mozilla help pages in October 2026. Menus change with updates.

In Adobe Acrobat Reader

1. Open the PDF in Acrobat Reader and click the Sign icon in the toolbar, or choose Tools > Fill & Sign.
2. Choose whether to add your signature or just your initials.
3. The first time, choose Type, Draw or Image, then click Apply.
4. Click where the signature should go. Use the field toolbar to resize or delete it, then save the PDF.

Adobe saves your signature in Adobe Document Cloud for reuse only when you are signed in and Save Signature is checked. Source: Adobe, Sign PDFs in Acrobat Reader.

In Microsoft Edge

Microsoft describes Edge’s ink tool as a way to take notes, sign or fill out PDF forms. Its PDF guide also covers adding text and images:

1. Open the PDF in Microsoft Edge. On Windows 10 and 11 it is the default PDF reader, so a double-click usually does it.
2. To fill blank form fields, select Edit in the toolbar and type.
3. To sign by hand, use the ink tool: choose a color and stroke width, then draw your signature on the line.
4. For your name as text, or a picture of your handwritten signature, select Add notes in the toolbar instead.
5. Select Save in the toolbar and choose where to save the copy.

The buttons in your Edge may be named differently after an update. Sources: Microsoft Learn, PDF reader in Microsoft Edge and Microsoft, How to use Microsoft Edge PDF Reader.

In Firefox

1. Open the PDF in Firefox.
2. In the top right corner, click the Add signature button, then + Add New Signature.
3. Choose Type, Draw or Image and click Add. Leave Save signature checked to reuse it later.
4. Place the signature on the line, then click Save in the toolbar to download the signed copy.

Source: Mozilla, View and edit PDF files using Firefox’s built-in viewer.

Step-by-step guides for each device: Preview on a Mac, Markup on an iPhone and signing on Windows. If you would rather not install Adobe, see signing a PDF without Adobe.

Back to the signer ↑

When SigPDF is the better choice

• Everything in one place, in any browser. A drawn signature, a typed one in a handwriting style or a photo of the one you write on paper, plus initials, a date picker set to today, text and form fields, without installing an app or switching browsers.
• You switch devices. The same editor runs in the browser on computers, phones and tablets, with nothing to install.
• You want to try it first. There is no account to try: open the PDF, sign it and see the result before you decide.
• The document is private. Many online signing services upload your file. SigPDF opens and signs the PDF in your browser instead; during checkout it waits in your browser’s storage until you come back to download it.
• When you don’t need it: if you sign once a year and Preview, Markup or Acrobat Reader already works for you, a built-in tool is enough. If you need a certificate-based digital signature, use a tool that creates one.

Free to try. Downloading the signed PDF needs a plan: €2.99 a month or €24.99 a year, cancel anytime.

Open the signer and try it ↑

Signature image, e-signature or digital signature?

What this page adds is a simple electronic signature: a visible mark that you agreed to the document. That is what landlords, employers and most businesses ask for. A digital signature is something else: a certificate-based seal that proves who signed and that the file was not altered, required mainly in regulated processes. If a form says “digitally sign” but is an ordinary contract, ask whether a visible e-signature is enough; it usually is.

Privacy

The PDF is opened and signed inside your browser. It is not uploaded to SigPDF or anyone else, and the downloaded copy is written on your device. For contracts, medical forms or anything with ID numbers, that is safer than tools that process documents in the cloud.

Device-specific steps: iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows.