How to Sign a PDF on Your Phone

The whole job in four steps

1. Save the PDF to the phone. A browser can only open files that are stored on the phone or in a storage app the file picker shows. Documents inside an email or a chat app need to be saved first; see the next section.
2. Open it in the editor. Scroll up to the editor on this page and tap Drop your PDF here, then pick the file. After a short check the signature step opens.
3. Sign and place. Draw with your finger and tap Use This Signature, or type your name on the Type tab. Tap the signature line on the page, drag the signature into position and use the blue corner square to size it. Add Date and Add Initials cover the boxes most forms have next to the signature.
4. Save and send it back. Tap Confirm & Download Signed PDF (a plan is needed for the download), then reply to the sender and attach the file ending in “-signed.pdf”.

Getting the PDF out of email and chat apps

• Apple Mail (iPhone): open the attachment, tap the Share button and choose Save to Files.
• Gmail and other Android mail apps: use the attachment’s download option; the file goes to Downloads.
• Messaging apps: open the document and use the app’s share or save option to store it in Files (iPhone) or Downloads (Android).
• Cloud storage: iCloud Drive and Google Drive files can be picked directly in the file chooser; other services appear there once their app is installed.

Got a paper form instead of a PDF? Take photos of the pages and turn them into one PDF with the image to PDF converter, then sign that.

Tips for signing on a small screen

• Turn the phone sideways before you draw. The signing box follows the screen width, so landscape gives your signature more room.
• Place first, size second. Drop the signature roughly on the line, then drag the corner square. That is easier than aiming perfectly on the first tap.
• Type if drawing fails. A finger signature on a narrow screen often looks shaky. A typed name in a handwriting style is accepted for the same documents.
• Check every page. Use Next to look for further signature or initial lines; the Placed Items list shows what sits on which page.
• Reuse your signature. Your last five signatures are kept in this browser on this phone and appear under Saved Signatures next time.

Using your phone’s own tools instead

iPhones can sign with Apple’s Markup (in Files or Mail: Markup → Add → Add Signature). Android has no signature tool, but Google Drive and Files by Google can draw on a PDF with a pen. Both are free; neither offers typed signatures or a date picker. The detailed steps are on the iPhone and Android pages, and tablets are covered in the iPad guide.

When it does not work

• “Please upload a PDF file.” You picked a Word file or a photo. Ask for a PDF or convert it first.
• “This PDF is password-protected.” Ask the sender for a copy without a password; protected files cannot be signed as they are.
• Tapping the page does nothing. Confirm the signature first with Use This Signature.
• Two signatures appeared. Every tap places one. Remove the extra with its red × or Undo.