The free online tool to sign a PDF draws, types or uploads a signature and places it on the page. Signing runs in the browser and the document is never uploaded. It adds an electronic signature, not a certificate.
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Printing to sign and scanning back is slow. The free online tool adds a signature on screen so a document is ready to send in a minute.
An agreement lands in the inbox and needs a signature before end of day. Signing it on the page and sending it back skips the print, pen and scanner entirely.
A lease or an NDA asks for initials on every page and a date at the end. Placing a saved signature, initials and a date field takes a few clicks rather than a full reprint.
A signed contract often holds financial terms or personal detail, the last thing to hand to a signing server. Signing on the device keeps the document and the signature where they are.
Drop a document onto the panel above or pick one from the device. The file opens in the browser, and no copy is sent out.
Draw with a mouse or finger, type a name in a signing font or upload an image of a real signature. Place it on the page, then resize and position it where it belongs.
Download the signed document with the signature flattened onto the page so it cannot be moved. The unsigned original is left untouched as a fallback.
To sign a PDF online is to place a signature on the page and record intent to agree. The tool covers the everyday case end to end.
Draw a signature with a mouse or finger for the closest match to paper. Type a name in a signing font for speed, or upload a photo of a real signature to reuse on every document.
Beyond the signature, initials, a date, typed text and a checkmark can be dropped anywhere on the page. It fills and signs a form in a single pass without a reprint, and a flat PDF with no built-in fields still takes text boxes placed anywhere.
The mark placed shows intent to agree, the electronic signature that ordinary contracts and forms run on. A record of the signing method, a consent confirmation and an ISO 8601 timestamp can travel in the file as evidence of intent.
The signature is flattened into the page on save, so it reads as part of the document and cannot be dragged off. The unsigned original stays where it was, untouched.
To sign a PDF, to eSign a document and to add a signature to a PDF all name the same step. The signed file is written new here, and the unsigned original is left as it stands.
Two different things are both called signing a PDF. Knowing which one a document needs saves a surprise later.
| The term | Kind | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Electronic signature | this tool | A drawn, typed or uploaded mark placed on the page to show intent to agree. It is what ordinary contracts and forms use. |
| Digital signature | a certificate | A cryptographic seal from a PKI certificate such as a PFX or P12 file, binding identity to the exact bytes. It is a separate, stronger form this tool does not place. |
| Draw | mouse or touch | A signature drawn by hand on a trackpad or touchscreen, the closest match to signing on paper. |
| Type | a signing font | A name typed and rendered in a handwriting-style font, the fastest way to a clean mark. |
| Upload | a PNG image | A photo or scan of a real signature, best saved with a transparent background to reuse across documents. |
| Legal standing | ESIGN and eIDAS | An electronic signature is binding for most business and personal documents under the US ESIGN Act, UETA and EU eIDAS. |
| When more is needed | check first | Some wills, notarized instruments and government filings still require a handwritten or certificate-based signature. |
| Flatten | fixed in place | On save the signature is merged into the page, so it reads as part of the document and cannot be moved. |
| Where it runs | on the device | The signing and the signature image both stay in the browser, so neither the document nor the mark is uploaded. |
An Electronic Signature, Not a Certificate
This tool places an electronic signature, a drawn, typed or uploaded mark that shows intent to agree. For the vast majority of everyday documents such as a contract, an NDA, a lease or a form, it is binding under the US ESIGN Act and EU eIDAS. It is the same kind of signature the standard tier of the large services produces. A cryptographic digital signature is a different thing. It is a certificate from a trusted authority that mathematically seals the bytes and proves identity, and a handful of high-stakes filings ask for one. When a party or a regulator names a certificate-based signature, it is worth checking before relying on a drawn one. The frameworks below define both.
Both add a signature to a PDF. The trade is real, and a document to sign is often a sensitive one.
| Point of comparison | This tool Signed in the browser On the device | Hosted eSign Uploaded and signed on a server |
|---|---|---|
| Where the document goes | Never leaves the device | Uploaded to a server |
| Where the signature goes | Stays on the device | Held in an account |
| Request signatures from others | Self-sign only | Invite and route signers |
| Audit trail of the signing | Method and time only | Who signed, when and IP |
| Certificate digital signature | Electronic only | Certified tier available |
Three rows here favor the hosted services, since inviting other signers, a court-admissible audit trail and a certified digital signature all need a server behind them. The first two go the other way and matter most for a self-signed private document. Neither the file nor the signature leaves the machine, and the work is free with no daily or document cap that the hosted free tiers impose.
Signing here draws the signature onto the page inside the browser. The document, the signature image and any typed detail all stay on the machine that opened them. Nothing is sent out to be signed.
A hosted eSign service uploads the document to a server and often keeps the signature in an account. A document waiting for a signature tends to be a contract or a filing, exactly the kind of file best kept off anyone else's system.
Each of these adds a signature to a document. They differ in cost, in reach and in whether the file stays on the machine.
Preview and the print route keep the document on the machine it sits on, while the hosted services carry it up to a server. The free online tool above signs on the device the same as those offline options.
A moment of checking keeps the signature valid and the file clean.
For most contracts and forms an electronic signature is binding and accepted. If a party or a regulator has asked for a certificate-based digital signature, that is a different form worth arranging first.
A signature drawn steadily, or a photo of a real one on white paper saved as a transparent PNG, reads far better on the page. A tidy mark reused across documents looks consistent.
Flattening merges the signature into the page so it cannot be dragged off later. Sending a flattened copy keeps the signed document from being altered by the next hand that opens it.
The browser tool signs one document at a time, held in memory, which suits the file in front of it. A folder of forms that all take the same signature, or a set headed out with the same initials and date, is work for the desktop edition, which reads from disk and signs every file in one run.
Point it at a directory and the same signature, initials and date land on every PDF in one run, each saved beside its source.
A PFX or P12 certificate can apply a cryptographic digital signature on the desktop, for filings that need one beyond a drawn mark.
A saved signature, initials and stamp set apply the same way to a large run, so a stack of documents comes out looking uniform.
Free and online, with no sign-up, no upload and no daily cap. Draw, type or upload a signature and place it on the page, all on the device.