How to sign a PDF online, without printing or scanning
The ritual is familiar: receive a contract by email, print it, sign it with a pen, run it back through the scanner or photograph it, then send it back. Four steps, a printer, a scanner — ending in a file that is often crooked and heavier than the original. There is a simpler way: draw your signature directly with the mouse, trackpad or your finger on a touchscreen, and place it on the right page of the PDF. Thirty seconds, no hardware.
This method covers the vast majority of everyday needs: a lease, a quote, a certificate, a parental authorisation, a service contract between parties who know each other. We are also honest about its legal limits: a signature image placed on a PDF is a so-called “simple” electronic signature, acceptable in most everyday situations, but different from an advanced or qualified electronic signature backed by a certificate, which some formal deeds require.
This guide details the three-step method, the settings that make a signature look right (size, position, ink), the question of legal validity, and two useful companions: filling in form fields before signing, and locking the document afterwards. All of it free — and your contract never leaves your browser.
Simple, advanced, qualified: what the law says
The European eIDAS regulation distinguishes three levels. A “simple” electronic signature — which includes a hand-drawn signature placed on a PDF — is legally admissible and cannot be dismissed as evidence merely because it is electronic. An “advanced” signature cryptographically binds the signer to the document via a certificate; a “qualified” one, issued by an accredited provider, enjoys legal presumption equivalent to a handwritten signature. For a lease, a quote or a certificate between good-faith parties, a simple signature is enough in practice; for notarised deeds or certain high-stakes contracts, a qualified signature service is required.
Sign in three steps, no printer or scanner
Open the Sign tool and drop in your PDF. Draw your signature in the dedicated area — with the mouse, the trackpad, or your finger on mobile and tablet, where the pad is optimised for touch. Botched stroke? Clear it and start again as many times as you need. Then choose the page, the size and the position of the signature, and download the signed PDF. Your signature and your document stay on your device from start to finish: nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored — which matters for a confidential contract.
Getting a clean signature: ink, size, position
Three settings separate a credible signature from a floating scribble. The ink: classic black, or blue — traditionally used to tell a signed original from a photocopy. The size: roughly 4 cm for a discreet initial, 6 cm for a standard signature line, 9 cm for a wide field. The position: align the signature with the intended line, usually at the bottom right of the last page, without covering the text. Draw slowly: the stroke is smoothed, but an unhurried motion gives a far more natural result.
Fill in the form before signing
Many documents that need signing are also forms: name, date, address, checkboxes. If the PDF contains interactive fields, run it through the Fill a Form tool first: typed entries look cleaner than freehand text, and the “Lock after filling” option freezes the values. If there are no interactive fields, the Edit tool lets you add text freely — the date and any required wording, for instance — before placing the signature. Chain the tools without re-downloading using the “Use as input” button.
After signing: freeze and protect the document
Once the PDF is signed, two precautions are worth taking for an important document. First, keep a copy of the signed file in an archive folder — it is your evidentiary original, with its signing date. Second, if the document will circulate, protect it: the Protect tool applies AES encryption with a password and can forbid content modification, which makes any after-the-fact alteration much harder. Send the password through a separate channel from the file (text message or phone call rather than the same email).
The limits you should know about
Let's be transparent about what this method does not do. A signature image is not tamper-proof: someone holding the file could copy it — hence the value of locking the document and keeping your own copies. Nor does it carry a certified timestamp or identity verification: the proof rests on context (email exchanges, performance of the contract). Finally, some organisations explicitly require a qualified signature or their own platform: in that case, follow their procedure. For everything else — the overwhelming majority of everyday documents — the method described here is fast, free and perfectly acceptable.