Tools

Sign a PDF online — free, no account, browser-based

Drop a PDF, draw or type your signature, click where you want it on the page, and download the signed copy. The whole process takes under a minute and runs entirely in your browser. Your file is never uploaded to a server — the preview, signature placement, and final save all happen locally on your device.

Drop a PDF here, or click to upload

Up to 25 MB. Processed entirely in your browser — never uploaded to a server.

How it works

Step-by-step guide

1
Upload your PDF

Drag and drop a PDF (up to 25 MB) or click to browse. The first page renders instantly so you can navigate to the right page with arrow buttons.
2
Create your signature

Switch between Draw mode (mouse, trackpad, or finger on touch devices) and Type mode (cursive font rendering of your name). Clear and redo as many times as needed.
3
Click to place

On the PDF preview, click anywhere on the page where the signature should appear. A green outline shows the exact placement before you commit.
4
Download the signed file

Hit the green button — the new PDF with your signature embedded downloads automatically. The original file is untouched.

Benefits

Why use this tool

100% private — nothing uploaded

Everything runs in your browser. We do not have a backend that receives your file.

No account, no email, no watermark

Most "free" PDF signer sites either email-gate the download or stamp a watermark. Ours does neither.

Works on any device

Tested on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. The signature canvas accepts touch input on phones and tablets.

Fast — under a minute

Upload, sign, download. No setup, no tutorial. The interface fits the entire workflow on one screen.

Original PDF preserved

Your signature is overlaid as a vector PNG; the underlying page content is untouched. Open the signed file in any PDF reader and the original text and images stay byte-identical.

Works offline once loaded

After the page and CDN libraries load on your first visit, you can sign documents without an internet connection.

Use cases

Common use cases

Freelancers signing client agreements

Designers, developers, consultants who get a SOW or NDA from a client and need to return it signed in five minutes — without paying $20/month for a full eSignature platform.

Real-estate counter-signatures

Agents and brokers sending the second-party signature on a closing document received via email, where speed matters more than enterprise-grade audit trails.

HR forms and onboarding paperwork

Tax forms, direct deposit authorizations, equipment receipts — internal documents that need an employee signature and don't justify routing through a corporate eSignature system.

Invoices, quotes, and proposals

Approving a vendor invoice, returning a signed quote, marking a proposal as accepted — all the small contract decisions that pile up in a small business.

Legal documents you receive once

Insurance forms, lease addenda, school permission slips, medical consent forms — the documents you'll never sign more than once and shouldn't install software for.

Quick edits to a draft contract

You're negotiating; the lawyer sends a redline; you initial a change. No need to fire up a full agreement workflow for a single initial.

Tool vs full software

When this tool is enough — and when a full eSignature platform is the right call

This tool is built for one job: sign a PDF that arrived by email and send it back. For that narrow workflow it is faster than any full eSignature platform — no template setup, no recipient configuration, nothing to learn.

It stops being the right tool the moment any of these are true:

You are sending a document for someone else to sign. A full platform handles email delivery, reminders, multi-signer routing, and an audit log if the signature is later questioned.
You sign more than ten documents a month. Reusable templates, signing links, bulk send, and CRM integration scale in a way that re-running this tool does not.
The document falls under specific regulations — HIPAA-protected health information, FDA-regulated electronic records (21 CFR Part 11), or a contract that requires an eIDAS Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signature. A pasted signature image is not engineered for those frameworks.
You need a tamper-evident audit trail. The output of this tool is a PDF with an embedded image. It does not record signer identity, IP address, or a cryptographic chain of custody — the kind of evidence courts and auditors look for in a dispute.

For those situations, look at our editor-tested ranking of full platforms — Sign.Plus for SMB usability, Dropbox Sign for a developer-friendly API, DocuSign for enterprise compliance, or SignNow as a budget mid-market choice.

Be aware

Honest limitations

! One signature per export. To add a second, run the tool again on the freshly downloaded file.
! Encrypted or password-protected PDFs cannot be processed in the browser. Remove the password in your PDF reader first.
! PDFs above 25 MB are rejected to keep browser memory usage reasonable. For larger files, use a desktop tool.
! No multi-signer routing, no email delivery — you sign your own copy and send it manually.
! No identity verification, no audit trail, no IP/timestamp record. This is a basic signing utility, not a workflow.
! Output is a flattened signature image embedded in the PDF, not a cryptographic PAdES/CAdES signature.
! Some documents (notarized deeds, certain wills, real-estate transfers in some jurisdictions) require a witnessed handwritten or qualified electronic signature and cannot be signed this way.

This tool is provided for general use. It is not legal advice and the information on this page is not a substitute for guidance from a qualified lawyer. Electronic signature law varies by country and by document type — sensitive, regulated, or business-critical agreements should go through a compliant eSignature platform.

Sign more than a handful of documents per month?

A standalone tool stops being enough once you need templates, audit trails, multi-party routing, or HIPAA-compliant storage. See our editor-tested ranking of full eSignature platforms.

Compare eSignature platforms →

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is this free PDF signer really free?

Yes — no account, no watermark, no email gate, no per-document limit. The tool is offered as part of our editorial site, supported by affiliate revenue from the platform reviews we publish.

Will a signature added with this tool hold up?

It depends on the document, the people involved, and the law that applies. In many jurisdictions, simple electronic signatures can carry legal effect for ordinary day-to-day agreements when both parties consent and the signing context is clear. But the rules differ by country, and certain documents — notarized deeds, some wills, FDA-regulated records, or contracts that explicitly require an Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signature under eIDAS — need stricter methods than this tool provides. If the document is high-value, regulated, or business-critical, treat this as a starting point and use a compliant eSignature platform with identity verification and an audit trail. Our eSignature legality guide walks through the country-by-country specifics, and this tool itself is not legal advice.

Does my PDF get uploaded anywhere?

No. The PDF is processed entirely in your browser. We do not have a backend that receives uploaded files. Closing the tab discards everything.

Can I sign multiple pages or add multiple signatures?

The tool currently supports one signature per export. To sign multiple pages, run the tool again on the freshly downloaded file. For multi-signer or sequential signing workflows, switch to a dedicated platform — see our reviews of SignNow and Dropbox Sign for the most affordable options.

What size and file types are supported?

Standard PDFs up to 25 MB. Encrypted or password-protected PDFs cannot currently be processed in-browser; remove the password first using your PDF reader.

What about signing on mobile?

Fully supported. Use your finger to draw the signature on a phone or tablet — touch input is captured the same way as mouse input.

Does the signed PDF preserve the original quality?

Yes. The original PDF content is unchanged; the signature is added as a vector-positioned PNG layer on top of the page. There is no re-compression of existing pages.

Can I use this for business or legal contracts?

For low-stakes everyday paperwork — a freelance agreement, an internal HR form, an accepted quote — many businesses do. For higher-stakes contracts where you may need to defend the signature later, the better path is a platform with identity checks and a tamper-evident audit log. Our eSignature legality guide covers the country-by-country specifics, and we recommend talking to a qualified lawyer for anything material.

Keep going

Sign a PDF online — free, no account, browser-based

Step-by-step guide

Upload your PDF

Create your signature

Click to place

Download the signed file