How to sign a PDF without printing or scanning

First, find out what kind of signature is expected

A request to sign a document can mean two different things. Often the other side only needs something that looks like a signed printout: a rental agreement copy, a school permission slip, a delivery receipt, an approved quote. Sometimes the request names a signing service or asks for a certificate.

The method below suits the first kind only. If the email or the document mentions a service by name, a certificate or a digital signature, follow that route instead. When in doubt, ask the person who sent it whether a picture of your signature is acceptable; one short question is quicker than doing the job twice.

Three ways to make the signature, and when each fits

‘Draw’ gives you a box with a guide line where you write with a mouse, trackpad or fingertip. It looks the most personal, though a mouse can make the line wobble, so a touch screen or trackpad works better. ‘Type’ takes a name of up to 40 characters and sets it in ‘Script’, ‘Serif’ or ‘Plain’ letters. It is the fastest and the neatest, but it will not look handwritten.

‘Photo’ brings in a picture of a signature you wrote on paper. That is the closest match when your signature has to resemble the one a bank or an office already knows. The result depends on the photo, which is why the tips further down matter. Whichever method you choose, you pick black or blue ink.

If this is your first time, start with ‘Type’. You see the result immediately, and if you dislike it you only switch the lettering style. Save ‘Draw’ and ‘Photo’ for paperwork where a handwritten look really matters, and you will save time.

Step by step, from opening the file to saving it

Use ‘Choose a file’ or drag the PDF onto the page. Once the pages have loaded, the ‘Create signature’ window opens by itself. Pick ‘Draw’, ‘Type’ or ‘Photo’, make the signature and press ‘Add signature’. It lands on the page that is currently in view.

Drag it onto the signature line and pull the dot at a corner to set the size. When you are done, press ‘Save PDF’ and then ‘Download’. The copy keeps your file name with -signed added, and your original stays untouched, so if something went wrong you can simply open the file again and start over.

• Open the file with ‘Choose a file’ or by dropping it
• Make the signature in a tab and press ‘Add signature’
• Drag it into place and resize it with the corner dot
• Press ‘Save PDF’, then ‘Download’

Getting a clean signature from a photo

The usual problem with photos is grey shadow or paper texture that comes along with the ink. Sign with a dark pen on plain white paper, hold the camera close enough that the paper fills the frame, and use even light, such as a spot by a window. Keep your hand and phone from throwing a shadow across the sheet.

With ‘Remove white paper background’ ticked, the light paper becomes see-through and only the ink remains in your chosen color, so no white box sits on the page. Anything darker than the paper counts as ink, though, so a photo with a heavy shadow is better retaken than fixed. Load the picture with ‘Choose a signature photo’.

Placing it so the document looks right

The signature arrives as a movable picture, so let it sit on or just above the signature line, the way a pen would. The proportions stay locked while you resize it. Too large and it covers the text around it; too small and it is hard to recognize. A height close to the lettering in the neighboring field usually looks natural.

If the document asks for signatures in several places, press ‘Sign’ in the toolbar to add another and move it to the right page. Type a date or a printed name with ‘Add text’, draw initials or a tick with ‘Pen’, and use ‘Shapes’ to circle one of several options.

Checking the file before you send it

Open the downloaded copy as a fresh file and check that the signature sits on the line and that no page was missed. On a phone it is easy to overlook an overlap or a cut-off edge, so look at it at full size on a larger screen if you can.

You can keep the -signed ending in the name, but if the recipient asked for a particular file name, rename it before you send it. It also helps to keep the unsigned and signed versions apart so you do not mix them up later.

Some recipients want several copies, so it is safer to open the final version once and then send copies of that same file. If the contents change after you sign, you may have to sign again from the start.

What this signature cannot do, and what happens to your file

What you add is a picture of your signature. The file gets no certificate, no timestamp and no seal that shows whether the document changed afterward, and anyone holding the file can copy the picture. So do not use it where a signing service or a certificate is required, and if a document carries legal weight, check with the other side or a professional.

The PDF is processed in your browser and not uploaded, and the signature itself is not stored or sent anywhere, so closing the tab removes it. To let other tools open the same file, the page does keep a copy of the PDF you chose in your browser’s own storage for up to two hours. That copy stays on your device.

A short list to run through before you sign

Read the document to the end and confirm that the date and the name are correct. As a rule, do not change the body text after the signature is on. If there are several signing spots, find every marked place first so that none is forgotten.

Decide how it will be sent as well. File names and size limits differ depending on whether you attach it to a message or upload it to a site. If the file is large, shrinking it with Compress PDF before you sign is the safer order.