How to Add a Signature to PDF Files Online

Resources » How to Annotate PDFs » How Can I Sign a PDF Document Online?

Easy! Create an Electronic Signature with PDF.Live

This post answers common questions about how to insert a signature on a PDF, including:

How do I add or put a signature to a PDF?
How do I insert a signature into a PDF?
How do I sign online PDF forms?
How do you sign a PDF form or file online?
How can you electronically write a signature on a PDF?

We refer to electronic signatures as e-signatures, which may not be legally binding; we refer to digital signatures as legally binding because they’re created in a secure online environment where two or more parties collaborate on a document (as in DocuSign, Panda Sign, HelloSign and such).

An electronic signature, or e-signature, is a non-formal signature that verifies you approve of or acknowledge a piece of information contained in a document. E-signatures are useful for less sensitive documents and, notably, are not supposed to be used on official documents. An official signature on a legally binding document typically requires a digital signature.

If you need to add an e-signature to a document, PDF.Live provides an online signing tool that will let you either add your signature or upload a photograph of your signature. This software-free tool functions entirely in your browser, allowing you to upload your PDF, sign it and download the signed file without needing to install software.

How Do I Put My Signature On a PDF Online?

Once you locate the PDF you’d like to sign on your computer, head to the Sign PDF tool to convert a PDF to a sign-able PDF. You will be prompted to drag and drop your PDF in the tool. Once you’re ready to start, select Sign PDF.

Upon selecting this, you will then be taken into the PDF.Live editor. This online editor has a lot of additional functions that we encourage you to explore to make changes, edits, annotations, and more on your PDF. For now, we’ll be focusing on the signing feature.

In the Quick Links box of the editor, you’ll see Sign under the list of popular PDF editing tools.

To sign a PDF, from PDFLive's online editor, under Popular Editing Tools, select Sign.

Clicking this will cause a dialogue box to appear in the PDF.Live editor that details the different methods you can use to add a signature to your PDF.

Clicking the Sign option will open the Create New Signature box, which includes ink colors in black, blue and red.

Using this dialogue box, you can Draw, type, or upload a picture of your signature to be added to your PDF.

Draw a signature

If you’re comfortable using a mouse and don’t need your signature to be absolutely perfect, you can draw it by clicking and dragging your mouse in the blank area of the dialogue box.

The colored circles allow you to change the color of your pen and signature: black, red, or blue.

The paintbrush on the far right allows you to erase whatever marks you’ve made in the signature section and start from scratch.

In this example, we’ve used the red pen and medium thickness to create a cursive initial.

In this example, someone with the initials AK used Create New Signature to draw their initials.

Type your signature

The type feature will create a cursive approximation of a signature by simply typing the keys on the keyboard you’d like to be included in your signature.

In this example, we used the Type option to type the initials AK in black in the signature box.

As with the draw feature, you can change the color of your signature to black, blue, or red. But you can also change the text style using the drop-down on the left side to have a few different variations of the signature using different fonts.

How Can I Insert a Signature Into a PDF?

Alternatively, you can upload an image of a physical signature that you’ve made.

Upload and insert a signature

The upload option lets you upload a picture of your signature for use throughout your document.

The third option is to upload a signature. Create New Signature, select Upload, and then drag and drop your signature file or choose a signature to upload from your computer.

Select Choose a signature and then navigate to where the picture of your signature is located on your PC to upload it to the PDF.Live editor. This picture will need to be a .jpg, .png, or .jpeg. Take a photo of your signature using your phone camera or scan it using a document scanner and send it to yourself. Store this picture on your computer.

Once you’re done, you can check the box that says Create to use the signature later on whenever you need it. Your cursor will turn into your signature.

You can then click anywhere in your document to place a signature there. Once you’ve placed it, you can resize it as you would any other PDF.Live object. Select the check mark when you’re happy with the placement of the signature. If you’d like to resize it, select the dot in the lower-right corner to drag it and resize it.

You can adjust the size of your signature by clicking the lower-right corner of the signature box and dragging it to adjust the size.

All signatures that you’ve created during your session will be stored in the PDF.Live editor under the Fill and Sign section of the PDF.Live editor until you sign out or close the window. Click the dropdown arrow to see all the signatures that you’ve created. You can select the trash icon to get rid of a signature you don’t want, or the + Signature option to create new signatures directly from this tool.