Sign PDF Documents Online, Free
Type your name in a signature font, draw it, upload a photo of your handwritten one, or sign with a fingertip on your phone. Place it anywhere on any page and download the signed PDF. No account, no watermark, and your document is never uploaded to a server.
Tools
Upload a PDF to start signing
Four ways to add your signature
A signature drawn with a mouse rarely looks like your real one. That is why there is more than one route here. Typing is the fastest, and signing on a phone gets closest to pen on paper.
Type your name
Enter your name and pick from six signature faces, from a formal copperplate to a casual handwritten one. The fastest route, and the most legible when a form has to be readable.
Best for: forms, approvals and anything typed-name friendly
Draw it on screen
Sign directly in the browser with a mouse, a trackpad or a stylus. Quickest option when the document is informal and the signature only needs to read as yours.
Best for: quick approvals and internal forms
Upload a signature image
Sign a sheet of white paper, photograph it, and upload the PNG or JPG. This gives the most faithful reproduction of your real signature and stays consistent across every document you sign.
Best for: contracts and anything client facing
Sign on your phone
Scan the QR code from your computer and a full-screen signature pad opens on your phone. Signing with a fingertip is far closer to pen on paper than a trackpad ever gets, and the result lands back on your desktop.
Best for: a natural looking signature in seconds
How to sign a PDF online
Four steps, about a minute, and nothing to install or print.
Open your PDF
Select the file you need to sign. It is rendered page by page in the browser, so the document itself is never sent anywhere.
Create your signature
Type your name in a signature font, draw it, upload an image of it, or scan the QR code and sign on your phone. Whichever you pick, it appears on the page ready to position.
Place and size it
Drag the signature onto the signature line and pull the corners until it sits at a natural size. Add more for initials or extra pages.
Download the result
Save the signed PDF. Original pages and formatting are preserved, and nothing is stamped across the file.
Electronic signature or digital signature?
The two terms get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. The distinction decides whether a free browser tool is enough for what you are about to sign, so it is worth two minutes.
An electronic signature is any electronic mark that shows you intended to sign. A drawn name, an uploaded image of your handwriting, a typed name in a signature block and a tick box in a checkout flow all qualify. It is a broad legal category rather than a specific technology.
A digital signature is one specific, cryptographic way of producing an electronic signature. A certificate issued to you, plus a private key only you hold, is used to compute a hash that is bound to the file. Change so much as a comma afterwards and the seal breaks visibly. That is what makes a digital signature tamper evident, and it is why it can also prove who signed rather than just that somebody did.
This tool produces an electronic signature. Your signature is drawn onto the page as artwork. That is the right tool for the large majority of everyday documents, and the wrong one when a counterparty has explicitly asked for a certificate.
| Electronic signature (this tool) | Digital signature | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A mark showing intent to sign | A cryptographic seal bound to the file |
| Needs a certificate | No | Yes, issued to the signer |
| Tamper evident | No | Yes, later edits break the seal |
| Proves identity | Not on its own | Yes, via the certificate |
| Cost | Free | Usually a paid certificate or service |
| Typical use | Agreements, forms, approvals, invoices | Regulated filings and high value contracts |
Are electronic signatures legally binding?
For most commercial agreements in most countries, yes. Two pieces of law do the heavy lifting in the markets people usually ask about.
United States
The federal ESIGN Act, in force since 2000, says a signature cannot be denied legal effect purely because it is electronic. UETA does the same at state level and has been adopted almost everywhere, with New York running its own equivalent statute. Between them, an electronic signature stands alongside ink for most contracts.
European Union and UK
The eIDAS Regulation recognises electronic signatures and sorts them into three tiers: simple, advanced and qualified. Only a qualified electronic signature is automatically equivalent to a handwritten one across every member state. A simple one, which is what this tool creates, is still admissible and still used daily in ordinary business. The UK retained an equivalent framework after Brexit.
Documents that usually cannot be signed electronically
The ESIGN Act carves out categories where an electronic signature is not accepted. Equivalents exist in other jurisdictions, so treat this as the shape of the exclusions rather than a global list.
- Wills, codicils and testamentary trusts
- Adoption, divorce and other family law matters
- Court orders, notices and official court filings
- Notices of foreclosure, eviction or repossession on a primary residence
- Cancellation of health or life insurance benefits
- Product recall notices affecting health or safety
This is general information about how electronic signatures are treated, not legal advice. For anything high value or regulated, check with a qualified adviser in your jurisdiction.
When this tool is the right one, and when it is not
A free browser signer covers a lot of ground, but it is not a signature workflow platform and pretending otherwise helps nobody.
Use this when
- You need to sign a document that has been sent to you and send it straight back.
- The file is confidential and you would rather it never touched a third-party server.
- You want it done now, without creating an account or burning a free-tier credit.
- You need initials on several pages as well as a signature at the end.
- You are signing on a phone or tablet and do not want to install an app.
Look elsewhere when
- You need to send a document to other people and track who has signed it.
- A certificate-based digital signature has been explicitly requested.
- You need a tamper-evident seal or a formal audit trail with timestamps and IP addresses.
- The document falls into one of the excluded categories listed above.
- Your industry mandates a specific compliance regime for signed records.
What people sign with it
Contracts and agreements
Freelance contracts, statements of work, NDAs and service agreements. Initial each page and sign the last one, then send it straight back in the same email thread.
Tenancy and property forms
Rental applications, lease renewals, inventory sign-offs and guarantor forms. Signing on a phone is often the fastest route when an agent needs it back the same day.
HR and onboarding paperwork
Offer letters, policy acknowledgements, timesheets and expense forms. No account means a new starter can sign without registering anywhere first.
Invoices and approvals
Purchase orders, delivery notes and sign-off sheets that only need a name and a date rather than a full signing ceremony.
School and medical forms
Consent forms, permission slips and registration paperwork. These are exactly the documents nobody wants to print, sign, scan and email back.
Client and vendor documents
Quotes, proposals and supplier forms where a signature is really a confirmation. Keeping the file local matters when the terms are commercially sensitive.
What actually happens to your document
Most free signers upload your PDF, process it on their servers and promise to delete it later. This one does not upload it at all. Here is the precise version, because a vague privacy claim on a signing tool is worth nothing.
The PDF stays on your device
Your file is read, rendered and signed by code running in your own browser, and the finished document is written locally before the download starts. It is never transmitted to us, which also means there is no copy for us to retain, leak or be asked to hand over.
Drawn and uploaded signatures are local too
If you draw your signature here or upload an image of it, that data stays in the browser alongside the PDF. Nothing about that path touches a server.
The phone option relays one image
Sign on Phone is the exception, and it has to be. Your signature image travels from the phone through our server to reach your desktop. It is only the signature, never the document, and you can avoid it entirely by drawing or uploading instead.
What is an online PDF signer?
An online PDF signer places your signature onto a PDF without printing, signing, scanning and emailing the result back. The print-and-scan loop is the thing it replaces, and that loop is where most of the friction and nearly all of the delay in a small signing job actually lives.
Under the hood there are two jobs. The PDF has to be rendered so you can see the pages and choose where the signature goes, and the file has to be rewritten with your signature drawn into the page content at the right coordinates. Both can now be done by JavaScript in a browser tab, which is why a signer no longer needs to upload anything or install anything.
What it does not do is turn the document into a cryptographically sealed record. Your signature is placed as artwork on the page, exactly as a scanned wet signature would be. For the everyday agreements most people are signing, that is the same thing the other side expected when they emailed you the file.
Getting a signature that looks right
- Sign on glass, not with a mouse. A fingertip on a phone or a stylus on a tablet produces a natural stroke. A mouse produces something that looks like a mouse drew it, which is fine internally and less good on a contract.
- Photograph a real signature once. Sign a white sheet with a dark pen, photograph it in daylight, crop it tight and keep the file. Reuse it and every document you sign looks consistent.
- Use a transparent PNG where you can. A signature on a white rectangle will cover the signature line and any text near it. A transparent background sits on the page the way ink would.
- Size it against the line, not the page. Match the height of the printed signature line. Oversized signatures are the clearest tell that a document was signed in a hurry with a web tool.
- Add the date in the same pass. If the form has a date field, fill it before you download. Going back to add it afterwards means re-signing the whole document.
- Check every page before downloading. Scroll the full document once. A signature dropped on the wrong page is easy to miss and awkward to explain.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is this PDF signing tool free?
Yes, completely. There is no account, no credit system, no daily cap and no watermark on the signed file. Sign as many PDFs as you need, including for commercial and client work.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Your PDF is opened, rendered and signed entirely inside your browser, and the finished file is written locally before it downloads. The document itself never reaches us. The one thing that does travel is the signature image when you use the Sign on Phone option, because it has to reach your desktop somehow. The PDF stays on your computer either way.
What is the difference between an electronic signature and a digital signature?
An electronic signature is any electronic mark that shows intent to sign, including a drawn or typed name placed on a document. A digital signature is a specific, cryptographic subtype that binds the signature to the file using a certificate and a private key, so any later edit to the document breaks the seal. This tool creates an electronic signature. It does not embed a certificate.
Are electronic signatures legally binding?
In most everyday commercial contexts, yes. In the United States the ESIGN Act and state adoptions of UETA give electronic signatures the same standing as ink for most agreements. In the European Union, eIDAS recognises electronic signatures and defines three tiers of them. What matters in a dispute is usually proving who signed and that they intended to, so keep your own record of how the document was sent, agreed and returned. This is general information, not legal advice.
When do I need a certificate-based digital signature instead?
When a counterparty, a regulator or a court specifically requires one. Common cases include filings with certain government agencies, regulated finance and pharma workflows, and anything in the EU that calls for a qualified electronic signature. If nobody has asked for a certificate, a plain electronic signature is normally what is expected.
Are there documents that cannot be signed electronically?
Yes. The ESIGN Act carves out several categories, including wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, adoption and divorce papers and other family law matters, court orders and filings, notices of foreclosure or eviction, cancellation of health or life insurance benefits, and product recall notices. Rules differ by country, so check locally before relying on an electronic signature for anything in those areas.
Can I sign a PDF on my phone?
Yes, in two ways. You can open this page directly on a phone and use it there, or start on a computer and choose Sign on Phone to get a QR code. Scanning it opens a full-screen signature pad where you sign with a fingertip, which usually produces a much more natural signature than a mouse or trackpad.
Can I upload an image of my handwritten signature?
Yes. Sign a sheet of white paper, photograph or scan it, then upload the PNG or JPG. A dark pen on plain white paper gives the cleanest result. A PNG with a transparent background sits best on top of existing text.
Can I type my signature instead of drawing it?
Yes. Choose Type Signature, enter your name, and pick one of six script faces. Your name is rendered at high resolution on a transparent background and placed on the page like any other signature, keeping its natural proportions so a long name is not squashed. A typed signature is still an electronic signature in the legal sense, and it is often the most legible option on a form that somebody has to read.
Can I sign more than one page?
Yes. Add as many signatures as the document needs and place them on different pages. Each one can be dragged and resized on its own, which is what you need for contracts that ask for initials on every page plus a full signature at the end.
Can I ask someone else to sign a document?
Not from this tool. It signs a PDF that you already have, rather than routing it to other people, chasing them and tracking status. For a countersigned contract, the practical approach is to sign your part, send the file on, and have the other party sign their copy.
Does signing change the rest of the document?
No. The original pages, text and formatting are preserved. Your signature is drawn onto the page as an image at the position and size you chose, and everything else in the file is left as it was.
Can the signature be removed from the finished PDF?
The signature is placed as page content rather than as an annotation layer, so it will not peel off in a normal viewer. It is not tamper-evident, though. A plain electronic signature cannot prove the document was left unchanged afterwards, which is exactly the guarantee that a certificate-based digital signature adds.
What file types can I sign?
PDF. If your document is currently a Word file, an image or a set of scans, convert it to PDF first and then sign it. There are converters linked at the bottom of this page.
Do I need to install anything?
No. There is no download, no extension and no account. The tool runs in any modern browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
Related Tools
The other PDF jobs that tend to come up around a signature.
Protect PDF
Add a password to the signed document before you send it on.
Merge PDF
Combine the signed pages with schedules, annexes or supporting documents.
Image to PDF
Turn photographed or scanned pages into a PDF you can then sign.
PDF to Word
Edit the wording of an agreement before it reaches the signature stage.
Compress PDF
Shrink a signed file that is too large for an email attachment limit.
Split PDF
Pull out just the pages that need signing from a longer document.