How to add initials to every page of a PDF

Why contracts ask for initials on each page

Initials on every page show that the signer saw each page, and make it harder for someone to swap a page out after signing. They are common in tenancy agreements, loan documents, employment contracts and anything long where a single changed page could matter.

They are also used beside specific clauses. A lease might ask the tenant to initial the pets clause or the break clause to show it was drawn to their attention. Strictly, in most legal systems a signature at the end binds you to the whole document. Initials are evidence of attention, not a legal requirement, unless the document or a local rule asks for them.

Doing it in one step with Sign PDF

When you upload a document, we already place initials boxes where the page asks for them, for example beside 'Initials: ____' at the foot of each page. If the document does not mention initials but you want them, type an instruction into the assistant.

• 'tenant initials every page'
• 'both parties initial every page except the last'
• 'employee initials clause 12'
• 'move the initials to the bottom left'

What the signer sees

The signer adopts their initials once, by drawing, typing or uploading, and then taps each initials box to place them. The signing page guides them from one required box to the next so none are missed, and they cannot finish until every required box is filled.

On the certificate of completion, their signing time covers all their boxes, and the seal on the finished PDF means no page can be replaced without the change showing.

Initialling a PDF yourself for free

If someone has sent you a document to initial, make your initials into a second saved signature. In Preview on a Mac, click Sign and create a new signature of just your initials. On iPhone, use Markup's Add Signature and save a separate one. In Acrobat Reader, Fill & Sign has a dedicated Add initials option.

Then go page by page, stamping and placing them. There is no shortcut for every page in these tools, so a 20-page lease means 20 placements. Keep the initials small and in the same corner on each page.