Sign a PDF in five steps
- Open Sign PDF and add your document.
- Create your signature — draw it with a finger or trackpad, type your name in a handwriting style, or upload a photo of a signature you made on paper.
- Drag it onto the signature line and resize it so it sits naturally on the rule, not floating above it.
- Add a date field or initials on other pages if the document asks for them.
- Download the signed PDF and send it.
Drawn, typed, or uploaded — which looks best?
Drawing gives the most authentic result on a touchscreen; on a trackpad it usually looks shaky. Draw slowly and in one continuous motion rather than lifting between letters.
Typing in a script font is the cleanest option on a laptop and is entirely acceptable for internal forms, NDAs, and supplier paperwork.
Uploading a photo gives you your real signature everywhere, but only if you prepare it properly: sign in black ink on white paper, photograph it in even light, crop tightly, and remove the background. Without transparency you get a white rectangle sitting on top of the contract, which looks obviously pasted.
Placement details that make it look professional
- Sit the signature on the line, letting descenders cross it slightly — a signature hovering above the line reads as a paste job.
- Keep it proportionate: roughly the width of the printed name beneath it.
- Use the same signature on every page that needs one; mismatched sizes look careless.
- If the form has a separate date box, fill it rather than writing the date inside your signature.
Is an online signature legally valid?
In most jurisdictions, including under the US ESIGN Act and the EU's eIDAS regulation, an electronic signature is valid for ordinary commercial agreements as long as the signer intended to sign and consented to electronic signing. A stamped signature on a PDF fits that description.
What it is not is a qualified digital signature — a cryptographic certificate that proves identity and detects tampering. Some contexts require that: certain property transfers, court filings, notarised documents, and some public tenders. If a counterparty specifies a qualified or certificate-based signature, a stamped image will not satisfy it. For everything else, it will.
Sign last, protect after
Finish the document before signing it. If you still need to add pages, do the merge first — combining a signed file with others devalues the signature and invalidates any certificate-based one. If the signed document contains personal or financial data, add a password with Protect PDF before emailing it, and send the password through a different channel.
Common mistakes
- Printing, signing, scanning, and emailing back — slower, and it produces a heavy, blurry file.
- Uploading a signature photo with a white background.
- Signing a form before filling in the fields, then re-editing afterwards.
- Emailing a signed contract and its password in the same message.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a typed signature acceptable on a contract?
For ordinary business agreements, yes — what matters legally is intent to sign, not how the mark was produced. Some counterparties still prefer a drawn signature, so follow their instruction when they give one.
How do I remove the white background from a signature photo?
Sign in black ink on plain white paper, then use a background-removal step to make the paper transparent before uploading. Otherwise the signature arrives inside a visible white box.
Can I sign a PDF on my phone?
Yes, and it is the best way to draw one. Signing in a mobile browser with your finger produces a far more natural line than a trackpad.
Does signing a PDF stop others from editing it?
No. A stamped signature is part of the page image, not a lock. To restrict changes, add password protection after signing.