How to sign a contract without printing it

A handwritten signature on a PDF is an image of your signature placed on the page, which is exactly what a scan produces, only without the printer, the crooked phone photo and the grey shadow across the page.

This guide covers signing on a computer or phone, which signatures are legally fine for which documents, what to do with forms and multi-page contracts, and how to send the result safely.

First: what kind of signature is being asked for

Most contracts can be signed with a simple electronic signature, and that is what drawing or pasting your signature produces. Before you start, look at how the document reached you.

• A plain PDF by email with "please sign and return": a drawn signature is what the sender expects. This covers most rental agreements, freelance and service contracts, NDAs, offer letters, school and HR forms.
• A link from an e-signature service: sign through that link. The service records who signed and when, and its audit trail is part of the deal. Do not download the file and sign it elsewhere.
• A document marked as requiring a qualified or notarised signature: a drawn signature will not do, whatever tool you use. More on this below.

Sign it in the browser

1. Open Sign a PDF and drop the contract, up to 100 MB.
2. Draw your signature on the pad with a mouse, a trackpad, a stylus or a finger. Use the whole pad: the entire pad area is placed on the page, so a small signature in one corner becomes a small signature surrounded by empty space.
3. Or upload a photo of your signature on white paper. Light pixels are made transparent, so the signature sits on the page as ink, without a white box around it.
4. Use the page buttons to move to the page with the signature line.
5. Click on the preview where the signature should go and adjust the size slider. The default is about the length of a typical signature line on A4 or Letter paper.
6. Download. The file is saved with "-signed" added to its name; your original stays untouched.

The PDF is opened, modified and saved by your browser. Neither the contract nor your signature is uploaded.

Getting a signature that looks like yours

A finger on a phone screen gives a far more natural result than a mouse. On a computer, use the photo route instead: sign on plain white paper with a dark pen, photograph it in even daylight without shadows, and crop tightly around the signature before uploading. Grey or shadowed paper leaves a smudge, because anything darker than light grey is kept as ink.

Several signatures or initials

Each download places one signature on one page. For a contract that needs initials on every page plus a full signature at the end, open the downloaded file again and repeat: initials at a size of 10 to 15%, then the next page. It takes a minute for a typical five-page agreement.

Built-in ways that are good enough

You may not need any website at all.

• Mac: open the PDF in Preview, click the Markup button, then Sign. You can create a signature by drawing on the trackpad or holding a paper signature up to the camera. Preview remembers it for next time.
• iPhone and iPad: open the PDF from Mail or Files, tap the Markup button, then the plus button and Add Signature. Sign with your finger and place it.
• Windows: Microsoft Edge opens PDFs and has a Draw tool for ink on the page. With a touch screen or a pen it works well; with a mouse the result is usually shaky.
• Word documents: if the contract arrived as a .docx file, insert a picture of your signature on the signature line and save as PDF from Word.

These are all simple electronic signatures, legally equivalent to what the browser tool produces. On Android, built-in support varies by phone; the browser tool works in Chrome.

Forms, scans and multi-file contracts

• Fill form fields first. If the PDF has fields to type into, fill them in your PDF reader and save, then add the signature. The signing step leaves the rest of the document unchanged, including filled fields.
• Paper you already signed. If a document can only be signed on paper, photograph the signed pages flat and in good light and turn them into a single PDF with JPG to PDF.
• Annexes in separate files. Combine the contract and its attachments into one PDF with Merge PDF before signing, so the signed version is one complete document.
• Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened for signing. If you know the password, remove it first with Unlock PDF.

Which signatures actually count

In the EU, the eIDAS regulation recognises three levels of electronic signature. In the US, the ESIGN Act and state laws based on UETA give electronic signatures the same effect as handwritten ones for most transactions. The UK and many other countries take a similar approach.

• Simple electronic signature. A drawn or pasted signature, a typed name, a click on "I agree". It cannot be denied legal effect just because it is electronic. Its weight as evidence comes from context: the email you sent it from and both sides acting on the agreement.
• Advanced electronic signature. Uniquely linked to you and able to detect later changes to the document. In practice it is created by an e-signature service or software with a certificate tied to your identity.
• Qualified electronic signature. An advanced signature backed by a qualified certificate, usually issued after an identity check, often through a bank, a national ID card or a government app. In the EU it carries the same legal effect as a handwritten signature in every member state.

Some documents are outside the simple route almost everywhere: wills, many real-estate transfers, documents that must be notarised, certain court and family-law filings. The rules vary by country, and the party asking for the signature normally tells you what they need. If a document does not say it needs anything beyond a signature, a drawn one is what nearly everyone uses.

One caution: if a PDF already carries a certificate signature, for example from a counterparty who signed through an e-signature service, adding a drawn signature and saving it breaks that signature's integrity check. The recipient's reader will report the file as modified. Sign such documents through the same service.

Before you send it

• Check the file. Open the downloaded PDF and look at every page you signed. Make sure the signature sits on the line and does not cover text.
• Size. A typed contract is usually a few hundred kilobytes and fits any email. Only scanned documents get heavy. Compress PDF in the browser turns pages into images, so text is no longer searchable; use it for scans, not for typed contracts that are already small.
• Password. For contracts with personal or financial data, add a password with Protect PDF as the final step, and send the password through a different channel, such as a text message.

• Keep copies. Store the unsigned original, the signed version and the email in which you sent it. That email is part of your evidence of what was agreed and when.

Troubleshooting

• The signature looks jagged. It was drawn with a mouse. Redo it on a phone or tablet, or upload a photo of a paper signature.
• A white box around the uploaded signature. The paper was too dark or shadowed. Photograph it again in daylight on bright white paper.
• The recipient says the signature is invalid. They need an advanced or qualified signature. Ask which service or method they accept.

Checklist

1. Check whether the sender asked for anything beyond a normal signature.
2. Fill form fields and merge annexes first.
3. Sign with a finger, a stylus or a photo of your paper signature.
4. Add initials on each page if the contract asks for them.
5. Review every signed page.
6. Protect with a password if the contract holds personal data.
7. Keep the original, the signed copy and the sending email.