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How to sign a PDF electronically

Printing a document just to sign it and scan it back is slow, and the result is usually a crooked, oversized scan. Signing a PDF electronically takes a minute and produces a clean file. This guide walks through the steps and explains, in plain terms, what kind of signature you are creating and where it is accepted.

Updated September 15, 20266 min read

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On this page
  1. 01How to sign a PDF, step by step
  2. 02Filling in a form before signing
  3. 03Is an electronic signature legally valid?
  4. 04Checking a signed PDF you received
  5. 05Keeping signed documents private

How to sign a PDF, step by step

Works the same way on a laptop, a tablet or a phone, where signing with a finger often looks the most natural.

  1. Open Sign PDF and add the document you need to sign.
  2. Create your signature: draw it with a mouse, a finger or a stylus, or type your name and choose a handwriting style.
  3. Drag the signature onto the right place on the page and resize it to fit the signature line. Add the date or initials the same way if the document asks for them.
  4. Download the signed PDF and send it back.

Signatures you create can be kept for next time, so a document that needs your initials on every page does not mean drawing them twenty times.

Filling in a form before signing

If the document is a form, fill it in first. Fill form reads the fields the PDF defines, so you type into the actual boxes rather than placing text by eye. Then sign the filled copy.

If the recipient should not be able to change your answers afterwards, flatten the form before sending it. Flattening turns fields and annotations into ordinary page content.

Is an electronic signature legally valid?

In many countries an electronic signature is valid for ordinary agreements. In the United States the ESIGN Act and UETA give electronic signatures the same standing as handwritten ones for most transactions, and in the European Union eIDAS recognises simple electronic signatures.

What Sign PDF creates is a simple electronic signature: your signature placed on the document. It is not a certificate-based digital signature that cryptographically proves who signed. Some documents, such as certain real-estate, notarial or court filings, require more than that; when a recipient asks for a qualified or certificate-based signature, use the process they specify.

Checking a signed PDF you received

When someone sends you a PDF with a certificate-based digital signature, Verify PDF signature checks whether the document changed after it was signed and whether each signature matches its certificate. It also shows which parts of the file fall outside the signed range, which is where later edits would hide.

Keeping signed documents private

A signed contract is exactly the kind of file you do not want sitting on a stranger’s server. DocuGrip signs the document without transmitting it, so there is no copy on our side, and the signature you draw is not sent anywhere either.

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Frequently asked questions

Yes. Open Sign PDF on the phone, add the file from your files app, email attachment or cloud storage, and draw the signature with a finger.

No. Nothing is added to the document except what you place on it, on every plan.

An electronic signature is any signature applied electronically, such as a drawn or typed signature on a PDF. A digital signature is a specific kind that uses a certificate to prove the signer and to detect later changes.

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