Sign PDF — Free, Private Electronic Signature
Sign PDF documents free: draw, type or upload your signature, add initials and the date, and place them on any page. No upload, no account.
About Sign PDF
Sign PDF places a handwritten-style signature, your initials, today's date and short text onto the pages of a PDF, then saves a new copy with those marks written into the pages. You can draw the signature, type it in a handwriting font, or photograph one you signed on paper. It produces a simple electronic signature, which is what most everyday forms and agreements ask for, not a certificate-based digital signature.
How to use Sign PDF
- Open the PDF. Password-protected files are refused, so run them through Unlock first if you know the password.
- Choose Signature and create it in the Draw, Type or Upload tab. Drawing works with a finger, stylus or mouse; Type offers three styles (Flowing, Elegant, Classic); Upload takes a photo of your signature on white paper and keeps only the ink. Pick black or blue ink.
- Tap the page where the signature should go. Drag it to move it and pull the corner to resize; the proportions stay locked.
- Add Initials, Date or Text the same way. Date inserts today's date as DD/MM/YYYY, and Text starts as 'Your name' for you to edit.
- If every page needs your initials, select the placed item and use Apply to all pages; it is copied to the same relative position on each page.
- Use Undo (or Ctrl+Z) to step back, then save. The signed copy downloads and is also kept in your workspace.
When it helps
Rental agreements and offer letters
Landlords and HR teams often send a PDF and ask you to sign the last page and initial the rest. Place the signature once, initial one page, then use Apply to all pages instead of tapping thirty pages by hand.
Consent and permission forms
School trip consent slips, society NOC letters and vendor forms usually just need a visible signature and a date. Typing your name in a handwriting font is fine where nobody expects your real pen signature.
Signing on a phone without a printer
Draw with your finger directly on the phone screen, place it, and send the result back from the same device. No printing, scanning or re-photographing a paper page.
Reusing a paper signature
If your bank or employer is used to your ink signature, sign a sheet of plain white paper, photograph it, and use the Upload tab. The background is removed so the signature sits cleanly on the page instead of in a grey rectangle.
Tips
- For the Upload tab, sign with a dark pen on plain white paper in even light. Shadows and lined paper are the usual reason the tool reports that it found no ink.
- Your last four signatures and four sets of initials are remembered on this device, so the next document takes a couple of taps. Delete them with the small cross if you are on a shared computer.
- Placement is mapped back to the page exactly as you see it, including rotated pages and pages with cropped margins, so line a signature up by eye on the preview and it lands in the same spot in the file.
- Text in scripts the standard PDF font cannot write (Hindi, Tamil and so on) is added as an image of the text, so it still appears correctly but cannot be selected afterwards.
Limitations
- This is an image of a signature placed on the page, not a certificate-based digital signature. It does not prove who signed, and it does not make the file tamper-evident: anyone with a PDF editor can change the document afterwards and nothing in the file will flag it.
- Documents that legally or procedurally require a certified digital signature, such as a DSC token or an Aadhaar-based eSign in India, or an organisation's PKI signature, cannot be completed here. Ask the recipient what they accept.
- It does not fill interactive form fields. Text you add is placed on top of the page as ordinary text, not into a fillable form's fields.
- Encrypted PDFs must be unlocked first, which needs the password.
What happens to your files
The PDF is read and rendered by PDF.js in your browser, and the signed copy is written by pdf-lib on your device; the document is never uploaded. Signatures you create are stored as small images in your browser's localStorage (up to four signatures and four initials) so you can reuse them, and they stay until you delete them or clear site data. The signed PDF is also saved to the on-device workspace in IndexedDB, where files expire after seven days. The handwriting fonts are bundled with the site, so typing a signature makes no request to a font service.
Related guides
- How to Sign a PDF Without Printing It
- Why Client-Side WebAssembly Processing is Safer Than Cloud Document Converters
Frequently asked questions
- Is my document uploaded?
- No. The PDF is signed inside your browser and never leaves your device, so it is safe for contracts and agreements.
- How do I add my signature?
- Draw it with your finger or mouse, type your name in a handwriting font, or upload a photo of your signature. The background is removed automatically.
- Is this a legally valid signature?
- It is a simple electronic signature, accepted for most everyday agreements in many countries. Some documents legally require a certified digital signature (for example a DSC in India), which this is not.
- Is it free?
- Yes. No account, no watermark and no limit on documents.
- Are my files uploaded to a server?
- No. File Studio is built on a strict local-first architecture. Every PDF operation — merging, splitting, compressing, redacting — runs entirely inside your browser using JavaScript. Your files never leave your computer. You can even disconnect your internet after the page loads and the tools will continue working perfectly.
- Is File Studio completely free?
- Yes, 100% free with no limits. There are no file size caps, no daily limits, no watermarks added to your output, and no account or email required. All tools are free forever.
- Does it work on mobile and tablet?
- Yes. File Studio is fully responsive and works on Android and iOS browsers. All processing happens locally on your phone's or tablet's hardware.