How to Sign a PDF on iPhone

Sign a PDF on iPhone in Safari, step by step

The editor at the top of this page runs inside Safari (Chrome and Firefox on iOS work the same way). Before you start, make sure the PDF is somewhere the iPhone file picker can reach: an attachment in Mail can be saved with the Share button → Save to Files, and anything in iCloud Drive, on the iPhone or in a connected cloud app is already there.

1. Choose the file. Tap the dashed box that says Drop your PDF here. iOS opens its file picker; pick the PDF. The editor checks the file first and then moves to step 2.
2. Create the signature. On the Draw tab, sign with your fingertip in the white box and tap Use This Signature. If your finger signature looks shaky, open the Type tab, enter your name and choose one of the four handwriting styles. Black, blue or red ink is set with the color dots above the box.
3. Tap the page where it belongs. The signature appears as a framed box at that spot. Drag the box with one finger to line it up with the signature line; drag the small blue square in its lower-right corner to make it larger or smaller. The red × removes it.
4. Go to other pages if needed. Use Previous and Next under the page. Every tap on a page places the active signature again, so a contract with several signature lines takes one tap per line.
5. Add the rest of the form. The buttons in the left panel are Add Initials (up to five letters),Add Date (the picker opens on today’s date),Add Text for your printed name and the like, and Add Photo (PNG, JPEG or WebP). Undo and Redo step back through your changes.
6. Download. Tap Confirm & Download Signed PDF. If Safari asks whether to download the file, confirm. Without a plan, the subscription window opens first; the signed copy is generated right after payment.

The signed copy carries the original file name plus “-signed”. Safari puts it in the Downloads folder in iCloud Drive unless you changed that in Settings; you can also reach it through the Downloads button next to Safari’s address field.

Sign with Markup in Files or Mail (built into iOS)

Apple’s own tool is free and needs no website at all. According to Apple’s iPhone User Guide, the steps are:

1. Open the PDF in Files, Mail or another app that offers Markup.
2. Tap the Markup button (a pen tip) or the word Markup.
3. In the Markup toolbar, tap the Add button (+), then Add Signature.
4. Pick a saved signature or sign a new one with your finger; Clear starts over. Apple suggests turning the iPhone sideways for more room.
5. Tap Done, drag the signature into place and pull the blue dots on its frame to resize it.

Signatures you create there are kept for the next time, and you can save several, for example a full signature and your initials. For forms, Apple’s AutoFill button can fill in name and address details from your contact card in the Contacts app.

Markup or SigPDF: which one should you use?

• Markup is the quickest choice for a single drawn signature on a file you already have open, and it costs nothing.
• SigPDF is the better fit when you want a typed signature, a separate initials box, a date picked from a calendar, or when the PDF has fillable fields: the editor lists those fields under Form Fields, writes your answers into the PDF and flattens them into the page, so nobody can change them afterwards by accident. It also behaves the same on Android, Windows and Mac, so you only learn one tool.

Common problems on iPhone and how to fix them

• “This PDF is password-protected”. Encrypted PDFs cannot be signed as they are. Ask the sender for a copy without a password, or remove the protection in the app that added it, and upload that copy.
• The PDF does not appear in the picker. It is probably still inside Mail or a messaging app. Save it to Files first (Share → Save to Files), then pick it again.
• The signature lands in the wrong spot. Drag it; you do not have to start over. On a small screen it helps to place it first and then fine-tune the size with the corner handle.
• Nothing happens when you tap the page. You are still on step 2. Finish the signature with Use This Signature (or pick one under Saved Signatures) and then tap the page.
• You cannot find the download. Look in Files → Browse → iCloud Drive → Downloads, or tap the Downloads button in Safari right after saving.

Privacy on iPhone

Many App Store signing apps send your document to their own cloud. SigPDF does not: Safari opens the file, the editor writes your signature into it on the phone, and the result is saved back to your iPhone. Your last five signatures are remembered in Safari’s storage on this device only, so you can reuse them with one tap and delete them whenever you like.

Signing on an iPad works the same way with more room and Apple Pencil; see how to sign a PDF on iPad. For the legal side, read whether electronic signatures are legally binding.