How to sign a PDF without printing it
Updated 19 September 2026
Printing a contract, signing it, scanning it and emailing it back produces a worse document than signing it on screen: it is bigger, it is unsearchable, and it is crooked. There is no reason to do it for most agreements.
Sign it
- Open Sign PDF and choose the document.
- Draw your signature with a mouse, trackpad or finger — or type your name and pick a hand that suits it.
- Click on the page where it goes, and adjust the size.
- Save. The signature is drawn into the file, not attached as a separate layer that another reader might not show.
Visible signature or digital signature?
What this produces is a visible signature: the same legal standing as signing a printout and scanning it, which for most commercial agreements is exactly what is expected and accepted.
A digital signature is a different thing — a cryptographic certificate bound to the document that proves who signed and that nothing changed afterwards. Those are issued by certificate authorities and are required for some court filings, tenders and government submissions. If the other side asks for a "digitally signed" or "DSC signed" PDF, a drawn signature will not satisfy it.
If the document is a form
A PDF with real form fields should be filled in as a form rather than written over — the values stay selectable and the recipient can read them back out.
Practical notes
- Sign at the size it will print. A signature dropped in at 300 pt and shrunk on screen still carries its original detail, so it is better to size it once, properly.
- Keep the signed copy, and send the signed copy — not the original with the signature "on top" in your reader, which may not be what the other side opens.
- If the agreement is sensitive, put a password on the file before sending it, and give the password by a different route.
Questions
- Is a drawn signature legally binding?
- In most countries an electronic signature is binding for ordinary commercial agreements, and a drawn one is treated like a scanned wet signature. Specific documents — wills, property transfers, some court filings — have their own rules. Check what the document requires.
- Can someone copy my signature out of the PDF?
- Yes, as they could from a scan of a printed one. That is a reason not to circulate signed documents freely, not a reason to print and scan instead.
- Does my signature get uploaded anywhere?
- No. Sign PDF runs entirely in your browser — the document and the signature never leave your device.