How to Sign a PDF on Android

Method 1: sign in Chrome with SigPDF

This works the same on Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, Motorola, Xiaomi or any other Android phone or tablet, because nothing is installed: the editor is part of this web page.

1. Load the PDF. Tap Drop your PDF here. Android’s file chooser opens; look under Downloads for email attachments, or switch to Drive or another storage provider in the chooser’s menu.
2. Make your signature. Draw it with a finger (or S Pen) in the white box and tap Use This Signature, or open Type, enter your name and pick a handwriting style. Choose the ink color first: switching color clears what you have drawn.
3. Place it. Tap the spot on the page where you need to sign. Drag the framed signature to nudge it; the blue corner square resizes it. Turn to other pages with Next and Previous.
4. Complete the form. Use Add Initials, Add Date (calendar picker), Add Text for anything else the form needs, or Add Photo. Fillable fields, if the PDF has them, show up in the Form Fields panel.
5. Download. Confirm & Download Signed PDF saves a copy named after your file with “-signed” added. If you have no plan yet, you choose one first and the download follows the payment.

Chrome puts the file in your default download location. Google notes that you can find everything you downloaded in the Files app, and Chrome’s own menu → Downloads lets you share, rename or delete it.

Method 2: draw your signature in Google Drive

The Google Drive app (Android 6.0 or later) has an annotate mode with a pen, highlighter and eraser. Google’s help page lists these steps:

1. Open the Google Drive app and tap the PDF to preview it.
2. Tap the annotate button in the bottom-right corner.
3. Choose the pen, set size and color, and write your signature on the line.
4. Save the PDF, or save a copy under a new name to keep the original unmarked.

For forms with real fields, Drive has a separate path: Edit → Form Filling, type your answers, then Save. Google points out this only works for PDFs with digital form fields, not for scanned forms. Chrome on Android 12 and later also has an Edit button on open PDFs, which hands the file to Drive’s pen tools.

Method 3: Files by Google

Open the PDF in Files by Google, tap Edit at the bottom right and use the pen to sign. When you tap Save copy, the copy is uploaded to your Google Drive while the original stays unmarked on the phone.

Both Google tools draw freehand on the page. There is no separate signature object you can move or resize afterwards, no typed signature and no date picker, which is why a dedicated editor is easier for contracts and multi-page forms. Adobe’s Fill & Sign app from Google Play is another option if you prefer an installed app with saved signatures.

Android problems and quick fixes

• The attachment is not in the file chooser.The editor can only open files saved on the phone or in a storage app the chooser lists. Download the attachment first, then pick it from Downloads.
• “Please upload a PDF file.” The file is not a PDF (a .docx or a photo, for example). Photos of paper pages can be turned into a PDF with our image to PDF converter first.
• Password-protected PDF. Encrypted files are rejected because they cannot be written to. Ask for an unprotected copy or remove the password where it was set.
• Your drawing disappeared. Changing the ink color resets the pad. Pick the color, then sign again.
• The page scrolls while you drag the signature.Start the drag inside the signature’s frame; touches outside it scroll the page as usual.

Privacy and legal validity

Many Play Store signing apps process documents on their own servers. In SigPDF the PDF never leaves the phone: Chrome reads it, the signature is written into it locally, and the signed copy goes to your Downloads folder. Under the US ESIGN Act and the EU eIDAS Regulation an electronic signature made this way is valid for most contracts and forms; see when electronic signatures are legally binding for the exceptions.