An employment contract, a lease, a medical form: the documents we sign are among the most private we have. Yet the usual way to sign one online is to upload it to a website, which keeps a copy on its servers at least for a while.
There’s another way. A modern browser can open, edit and save a PDF by itself, with nothing sent anywhere.
How to sign
- Open the Sign a PDF page and choose your PDF.
- Add your signature: Draw it with a mouse, trackpad or finger, Type your name in a handwriting style, or use a Photo of your signature on paper.
- Click Place signature, then click where it goes. Drag it and resize it from the corner.
- Need initials or a date as well? Pick Note and type them anywhere on the page.
- Click Download. The signed PDF is saved to your device.
How to check that nothing is uploaded
You don’t have to take our word for it. Try this:
- Open the PDF in the editor.
- Turn off your Wi-Fi, or switch on airplane mode.
- Sign, place the signature and download.
It all still works, because nothing needs the internet once the page and your file are open. A tool that uploads your document can’t do that.
Where does my signature go?
The last three signatures you placed are remembered so you can reuse them, in your browser’s own storage on this device. They’re never sent to us. Clearing your browser’s site data removes them.
Is it legally valid?
In most countries a picture of your signature on a PDF counts as an electronic signature, and it’s what most everyday paperwork expects: leases, school forms, HR documents, many contracts.
Some documents call for a qualified electronic signature, based on a certificate issued to you. That’s a different, cryptographic kind of signature, and it isn’t supported here yet. If the sender asks for one, use the service they name.