How to sign a Word document

Option one: insert a picture of your signature

This is what Microsoft itself suggests for most people. Sign your name on white paper, photograph or scan it, and save it as a PNG or JPG. In Word, put the cursor where the signature goes and choose Insert > Pictures > This Device. Click the image, choose Wrap Text > In Front of Text so you can drag it freely, then crop and resize it.

To reuse it, Microsoft's help page describes saving the picture and your typed name together as an AutoText entry (Insert > Quick Parts > Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery), so it can be inserted in two clicks next time.

Option two: draw it with the Draw tab

On a touchscreen laptop or with a pen, Word's Draw tab lets you pick a pen and sign straight onto the page. It looks natural with a stylus and poor with a mouse. Ink can move when text above it reflows, so check the layout before sending.

Option three: the Microsoft Office Signature Line

Insert > Signature Line > Microsoft Office Signature Line adds a formal line with an X. The Signature Setup box lets you fill in the suggested signer's name, title and email and add instructions. When the signer opens the document in Word desktop, they right-click the line and choose Sign, then type their name, choose an image, or ink it.

This creates a certificate-based digital signature, so the signer needs a digital ID. Word then marks the document as final and any edit removes the signature. It is useful inside organisations that already issue certificates, and fiddly for anyone else. Microsoft also notes that Word for the web has no signature command at all, and the mobile apps need an add-in for signature lines.

Why most signed contracts end up as PDFs

A Word file is designed to be edited. Fonts substitute, page breaks move, and anyone can change a clause and save. That is the opposite of what you want from a signed agreement. Converting to PDF fixes the layout, and sealing the PDF makes edits detectable.

With Sign PDF you skip the conversion step. Upload the .docx (or .doc, .odt, .rtf or Pages file) and we convert it to PDF, then read the wording near each blank, such as 'Signed by the Employee' or 'Date', to place signature, date and name boxes and assign them to the right person. You check, send, and each signer signs in their browser after confirming a code from their email. The finished PDF has a certificate of completion and a tamper-evident seal.

If your template uses Word content controls or form fields, check our placement carefully: we read the page, not Word's internal field codes.