Your first PDF signature, one step at a time
Never signed a PDF before? The first time can feel like guesswork: what counts as a signature on a screen, whether a wobbly mouse signature is good enough, and how to be sure the finished file is right before anyone else sees it. This guide goes through it step by step for a complete beginner, on a computer, an iPhone or an Android phone. You'll learn what you are actually adding to the document, try it out on your own PDF for free before paying for anything, and check the signed copy page by page.
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Updated 27 October 2026 · Written by Joe Farwick, who runs this site
What a PDF signature is, and what it isn't
On paper you sign with a pen. With a PDF you add a mark to the file that shows you agree, and on this site that mark is an image of your signature, put on the page exactly where you choose. You can draw it, slowly and as many times as you like until it looks right, or type your name and let the signer write it in a handwriting style.
US federal law defines an electronic signature very broadly (15 U.S.C. § 7006): roughly, any sound, symbol or process that someone attaches to a document because they mean to sign it. In plain words, what makes it your signature is that you added it on purpose to sign. The definition says nothing about neatness, so a wobbly mouse signature or a typed name can serve, although each sender decides what it accepts. It is not the same as a certificate-based digital signature, which some offices and companies use. If a sender asks for one of those, or for a witness, a notary or ink on paper, an image on the page won't do, so ask them how they want it handled.
Words you'll meet the first time
PDF: A document format that looks the same on every screen and printer; its file name ends in .pdf. Instead of changing the text, you add your signature on top of the page.
Electronic signature: Any way of signing on a screen rather than on paper. The kind made here, an image of your signature placed on the page, is often called a simple electronic signature.
Fillable form: A PDF with boxes you can type into. When a document has them, the signer lists them under Form Fields so you can fill them in before signing.
Initials: The first letters of your names. Some documents want them on every page to show you have read it; Add Initials and "Place on every page" take care of that.
Before you start: what to have ready
The signer opens files, so the document has to be saved on the device you will sign on. A PDF you can only see as a preview inside an email needs downloading first; if it then seems to vanish, our guide to finding a downloaded PDF lists where computers and phones put it.
Have the sender's instructions to hand as well. They usually say where to sign, whether to add the date and your printed name, and whether every page needs initials. On a phone or tablet you sign with a fingertip; on a computer, with the mouse or by typing. Give yourself a quarter of an hour the first time, at a moment when nobody is rushing you.
The free practice run, screen by screen
Further down this page, below the steps, press the large box and choose your file. The first page appears and the signer asks for your signature: choose Draw and write it with the mouse or your finger, or choose Type, write your name and pick a style. Then click or tap the page where the signature belongs. It lands there, and you can drag it onto the line and make it bigger or smaller.
Add Date puts in a date you pick, and Add Text adds your printed name or anything else the form asks for. If the PDF has boxes to fill in, they appear under Form Fields. Undo takes back the last step and every placed item has a Remove button, so a mistake costs nothing, and your original file is never changed. All of this is free. The plan only comes in when you press "Confirm & Download Signed PDF": €2.99 a month or €24.99 a year.
Checking the signed file before it goes back
The download is a new PDF with the same name plus -signed, usually in your Downloads folder (on an iPhone, in the Files app). Open that file rather than trusting what you saw while placing things, and go through it page by page. Is the signature on the line, not floating in the margin? Is the date there, in the format printed on the form? Are initials on every page that asked for them, and is every box filled in?
If something is wrong, open the original file again, fix it and download a fresh copy; a plan lets you download as often as you need. Then send the -signed file back the way the sender asked for it.
If there is a signing button instead of a PDF
Some senders don't attach a PDF at all but send a button from an e-signature service such as Docusign. Then you sign on that service's own page and don't need this signer; unexpected signing requests are also a common trick, so run through our checklist for checking a document is genuine first.
Sources (checked 24 October 2026)
Your first signature, step by step
Take them in order and stop whenever you like. Your document is never uploaded.
- 1
Know what you're adding
A PDF signature here is a picture of your signature, drawn with the mouse or a fingertip or typed in a handwriting style, placed on the document's signature line. No pen, printer or scanner is involved.
- 2
Do a free practice run
Open your PDF in the signer just below these steps, make your signature and place it. None of that costs anything, so you can see exactly how the result looks before you decide to pay for the download.
- 3
Check the signed file
After downloading, open the new file whose name ends in -signed and look at every page: the signature on the right line, the date and your name where asked, no box left empty.
A signer for anyone unsure what to click: large text, big buttons and three plain steps from opening the PDF on your computer to saving it signed. Nothing is uploaded.
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Questions from first-time signers
- Does my signature have to look like the one I write on paper?
- Not as a rule. What matters is that you add it intending to sign, so a typed name in a handwriting style is a reasonable choice if drawing feels awkward. If a sender has its own requirements, its instructions should say so; when in doubt, ask.
- Do I have to print and scan it?
- Usually not. Most senders accept a PDF with an electronic signature. Print only if the sender specifically asks for a wet-ink signature or a witnessed one.
- Can I do this on my phone instead of a computer?
- Yes. Open this page in the phone's browser, choose the PDF from Files on an iPhone or from Downloads on Android, and sign with your fingertip. The steps are the same as on a computer.
- Will it remember my signature next time?
- Yes, in the same browser on the same device: it waits under Saved Signatures and you press Use. It is kept only on that device, and clearing the browser's data for this site removes it.
- What does my first signed PDF cost?
- The practice run is free: opening the PDF, making your signature and placing it. Downloading the signed copy needs a plan at €2.99 a month or €24.99 a year. If you only have one document, cancel straight after; the plan runs until the paid month ends.
Ready for your first signature?
Choose the PDF in the box above. Making and placing your signature is free, so you see the result before you pay.
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