How to sign a PDF without Adobe Acrobat
Sign a contract in your browser in a minute, with nothing uploaded, and the built-in options on every platform.
What "signing a PDF" usually means
For a lease, a consent form, an offer letter or a freelance contract, signing means placing an image of your signature on the signature line and sending the file back. It is the electronic version of print, sign, scan. It does not need Acrobat, a subscription, or an e-signature service that stores your document and emails you about it for a year.
This is different from a digital signature, which is a cryptographic certificate embedded in the PDF and verified by the reader. Some regulated or high-value documents require that; if a counterparty needs it, they will use a platform that provides it and say so.
Signing in your browser, without uploading
Open the sign PDF tool and drop the document. Draw your signature with a mouse, finger or stylus, or type your name in a handwriting font. Click where it should go on the page, resize it, and add the date if the form wants one. Save, and the signed PDF downloads. The signature is drawn into the PDF by pdf-lib inside the tab; the contract is never uploaded, which is the right property for a document that contains your address, salary or bank details.
Sign once and reuse: the signature stays in the tool for the session, so multi-page forms with several signature lines take a few clicks.
Built-in options by platform
Every major platform has a way to do the same thing, with a bit more friction:
- Mac: open the PDF in Preview, click the Markup toolbar, then the signature button. Create a signature with the trackpad or by holding a signed paper up to the camera. Drag it onto the page.
- iPhone and iPad: open the PDF in Files or Mail, tap the Markup pen, tap the plus button, choose Signature.
- Android: Google Drive's PDF viewer has an annotate mode with a freehand pen; a drawn signature works, though it is less tidy. Many phone makers' file apps include a Sign option.
- Windows: Edge opens PDFs and has a Draw tool for a freehand signature. There is no typed-signature option. Acrobat Reader's free Fill & Sign also works but requires the Adobe app and, by default, an account.
Before you send it
If the form has a "sign here" box on every page, use the tool's place-on-every-page option. If you are returning several documents, merge them into one file so nothing gets lost. And if the recipient insists on a "certified" or "digital" signature, ask which platform they use rather than guessing; a drawn signature is legally fine for most everyday contracts but is not what they mean.
Questions
Is a drawn or typed signature legally valid?
In the United States (ESIGN Act), the United Kingdom, the European Union (eIDAS "simple electronic signature") and most other jurisdictions, a signature you intend as your signature is valid for ordinary contracts. Certain documents, such as wills and some property deeds, have stricter rules.
Can the recipient remove the signature?
It is drawn into the page content like any other graphic. Editing it out is as hard, or as easy, as editing any part of a PDF, which is the same as for a scanned signature.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Drawing with a finger on a phone screen works well, and the tool is installable as an app that works offline.
Is my document uploaded when I sign it here?
No. The signature is placed by code running in your browser; you can verify it in the network tab or by signing with the network switched off.