Signing guides that get to the point

How to sign a PDF

To sign a PDF yourself, open it in a free tool you already have (Preview on a Mac, Markup on an iPhone, Adobe Acrobat Reader's Fill & Sign, or the Draw button in Microsoft Edge), add your signature and save. To get someone else to sign it with a record of who signed and when, upload it to an e-signature service such as Sign PDF, which places the boxes, emails each signer a link and returns a sealed copy with a certificate of completion.

How to sign a PDF on an iPhone

Open the PDF in the Files app or as a Mail attachment, tap the Markup button, tap the Add button (+), choose Add Signature, sign with your finger and tap Done, then drag the signature into place. That puts your own signature on the file for free; to collect another person's signature with a record of who signed, send the PDF from Sign PDF, which works in Safari on the same phone.

How to sign a PDF on Android

Android has no single built-in signing tool like the iPhone's Markup, so most people install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader app, open the PDF, tap Fill & Sign and add a drawn signature. The Google Drive app can also annotate a PDF with a pen. To get someone else's signature with an audit trail, use Sign PDF in Chrome on the same phone.

How to sign a PDF on a Mac

Open the PDF in Preview, click the Sign button in the Markup toolbar (or choose Tools > Annotate > Signature), create a signature with your trackpad, camera or iPhone, then click it and drag it onto the page. Preview is free on every Mac. To collect another person's signature with proof of who signed, send the PDF with Sign PDF instead.

How to sign a PDF on Windows

On Windows 10 or 11, open the PDF in Microsoft Edge, click Draw in the PDF toolbar, sign with your mouse, pen or touchscreen, and click Save. Adobe Acrobat Reader is the free alternative with a reusable signature under Fill & Sign. Both put your own signature on the file; to collect someone else's with an audit trail, send it with Sign PDF.

How to sign a PDF without Adobe

You can sign a PDF without any Adobe software: Preview on a Mac, Markup on an iPhone or iPad, the Draw tool in Microsoft Edge on Windows, and the pen in Google Drive on Android all add your signature for free. If you need other people to sign, Sign PDF sends the document from your browser for $5 a month, with no Adobe account and no annual contract.

How to sign a PDF for free

Signing a PDF yourself is free on every device: Preview on Mac, Markup on iPhone, Microsoft Edge on Windows and Adobe Acrobat Reader everywhere. Collecting other people's signatures for free is possible on small free tiers, such as Dropbox Sign's 3 requests a month or PandaDoc's 5 documents a month. Sign PDF is not free; it costs $5 a month, though you can upload a file and see the boxes placed before paying.

How to sign a Word document

In Word for Windows or Mac, you can insert an image of your signature (Insert > Pictures), draw it with the Draw tab, or add a signature line with Insert > Signature Line > Microsoft Office Signature Line. For a document someone else must sign, convert it to PDF and send it for e-signature: Sign PDF accepts .doc and .docx directly and turns them into a PDF before sending.

How to get a contract signed online

Upload the contract to an e-signature service, add a signature, date and name box for each party, enter their emails and send. Each person opens the link, verifies their email and signs in the browser, and everyone receives the completed PDF with a certificate showing who signed and when. With Sign PDF this takes a few minutes and costs from $5 a month.

How to send a PDF for signature

Upload the PDF to an e-signature service, place a signature box for each person, enter their email addresses and click send; each signer gets a link, signs in the browser and you receive the signed copy. In Sign PDF, the boxes are placed for you and signers verify their email with a six-digit code before signing. Emailing the PDF as an attachment and asking for it back signed works too, but leaves you with no proof of who signed.

How to collect multiple signatures on one PDF

Upload the PDF to an e-signature service, give each person their own signature, initials and date boxes, add everyone's email and send once; each signer signs their own part and the service combines them into one completed file. Sign PDF allows unlimited signers per document on both plans, and the document counts once however many people sign.

How to set a signing order

A signing order makes each person sign only after the one before them has finished: the first signer is emailed, and the next receives their link when the first has signed. In Sign PDF, tick 'In order' in the editor (or 'Sign in order' when sending) and use the up and down arrows beside each signer to set the sequence. Signing order is on the Full plan at $10 a month.

How to add initials to every page of a PDF

Most free PDF tools make you place initials page by page. In Sign PDF you type 'tenant initials every page' (or any role) into the assistant and it adds an initials box to the bottom corner of every page for that signer; the signer adopts their initials once and taps each box. To initial a document yourself for free, create initials as a second signature in Preview, Markup or Acrobat Reader and stamp it on each page.

How to fill and sign a PDF form

If the PDF has fillable fields, open it in Preview, Acrobat Reader, Edge or Chrome, click each box and type, then add your signature and save. If the form is a flat scan with lines but no fields, use the text tool (Fill & Sign in Acrobat Reader, Text in Preview) to type over the lines. To have someone else fill and sign it, Sign PDF keeps the existing form fields and adds signature boxes for each signer.

How to sign a scanned document

Scan the paper with your phone (Notes or Files on iPhone, the Scan button in Google Drive on Android), save it as a PDF, then add your signature in Markup, Preview or Acrobat Reader. To have someone else sign it, upload the scan to Sign PDF: we read the printed text, place signature and date boxes on the right lines, and send it for signing.

How to create an electronic signature

You can create an electronic signature three ways: draw it with a finger, trackpad or mouse; type your name in a handwriting-style font; or photograph your ink signature on white paper and save it as an image. Legally, any of these counts as an electronic signature when you use it intending to sign. Sign PDF offers all three when you sign, with drawing as the default.

Electronic signatures vs digital signatures

An electronic signature is any electronic mark a person uses to show they agree to a document, such as a drawn signature, a typed name or a click. A digital signature is a specific technology: a cryptographic seal made with a certificate that proves a file has not changed since it was signed and identifies who sealed it. Most e-signature services, Sign PDF included, use both: people sign electronically, then the finished PDF is digitally sealed.

Are electronic signatures legally binding?

Yes. In the United States (ESIGN Act and UETA), the European Union (eIDAS), the United Kingdom (Electronic Communications Act 2000 and common law) and the UAE (Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021), an electronic signature cannot be refused legal effect just because it is electronic. Some documents are excluded, such as wills and certain property and family law documents. This is general information, not legal advice.

How to verify a signed PDF

Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader and check the Signature panel: a digitally sealed file shows who sealed it and whether the document has been modified since. For a document signed through Sign PDF, drop the file into signpdf.ai/verify; it is fingerprinted in your browser and compared with the sealed original, and the file never leaves your computer. A PDF with only a pasted signature image has no seal, so it cannot be verified this way.

How to cancel DocuSign

Sign in as an account administrator, go to Admin > Plan and Billing > Manage Subscription and choose Cancel subscription; DocuSign's help article says this stops auto-renewal and moves the account to the free version at the end of your term. On annual plans, DocuSign's pricing FAQ says you can get a refund within 30 days of purchase, once per customer, and that cancelling after 30 days means paying the rest of the year. Sign PDF is month to month at $5 or $10, with no annual contract.