How to fill and sign a PDF on your phone or computer

A form arrives by email. It needs your answers, your signature and the date, and it needs to go back today. (This guide works on any device; for the phone steps, see how to fill out and sign a PDF on iPhone.) The old way is to print it, write on it, scan it and attach the scan. The new way takes a few minutes on the phone in your hand.

This guide follows one path from start to finish: fill, sign, date, send. It also covers what to do when the form has no fillable fields, and what a signature placed on a PDF does and does not do.

How do I fill and sign a PDF?

Use Fill and Sign PDF. It does the filling, the signing and the sending in one place, in your browser. Here are the steps.

1. Add your form. Drop the PDF onto the tool or choose it from your device. A plain form with no fillable fields, a packet of several pages and a scan all work.
2. Fill it in. Type on the blank lines and tick the boxes you want. If you have a packet, the tool lists the pages that need filling so you can jump to them.
3. Add your signature. Draw, type or upload one, and place it on the signature line. Do this after the rest, so you do not sign a form you still need to change.
4. Add the date. Place a date next to your signature, or wherever the form asks for one.
5. Pick the whole document or only the pages you filled, then press Share or email. Your phone's share sheet opens with the PDF attached, and you choose Mail, Gmail, Outlook or Messages.

Your original file is not changed. The saved copy is named with the date, such as lease-signed-2026-10-26.pdf, so it is easy to find.

Can I fill a PDF that is not fillable?

Yes. Some forms are only a picture of a form, so a click does nothing. The tool finds the blank lines and boxes on each page and lets you type on them and tick them. You can also place text, check marks and a signature anywhere on the page. How to fill out a PDF that is not fillable explains the difference in more detail.

How do I check a box?

Tap or click the box. Tap it again to take the mark off. You can switch between a check, an X and a dot. Boxes under a choose-one question work like radio buttons, so picking one clears the others. Make these changes before you download, because the marks become part of the saved page.

What does my signature look like?

Your signature is a picture of your signature placed on the page. It is not a certificate-based digital signature, which carries a record of who signed and when. For most everyday paperwork a picture is what the other side expects, but not for every form. How to sign a PDF without printing it shows the three ways to make a signature.

Whether an electronic signature is accepted depends on the form and on who asked for it. The law behind this is covered in Is a signature on an iPad legally binding? This is general information, not legal or tax advice. If the form matters a lot, ask the sender what they accept, or ask a professional.

Can I email a signed PDF from my phone?

Yes. Share or email hands the file from your device to the app you pick, and the file never goes through our servers. A browser that cannot attach files downloads the PDF instead, and the tool shows how to attach it from your Downloads or Files folder. Keep the sent email or message, so you can show when you sent it.

What about tax and immigration forms?

PDFinish only helps you type on a form and sign it. We never tell you what to put in a tax or immigration form, what applies to you or when it is due. Follow the instructions that came from whoever issued the form, and ask a professional if you are unsure.

Two examples

A new hire gets a benefits form as a plain PDF. They choose their options, fill in their details, sign and date it, and send back only the two pages HR asked for. A small landlord signs a lease addendum on their phone and emails it to a tenant, without a printer or scanner.

Common problems and fixes

• Nothing happens when you click a blank. The form is flat. Type on the page instead, as described above.
• Your signature covers a printed word. Resize it and drag it back onto the line, then zoom in to check.
• You signed too early. Go back to your original file and start again. Do the filling first and the signing last.
• The file is too big to email. Run it through Compress PDF first, and read why your PDF is so big before you choose the strongest setting.
• You only want to fill, with no signature. Fill PDF is the shorter route, and how to fill out a PDF form covers flattening.

A short checklist

• Read the form's instructions first.
• Fill in every field that applies, then sign, then date.
• Zoom in on each page you changed.
• Send only the pages that were asked for, unless told otherwise.
• Keep your copy and the sent message.

2 free uses in total, no account needed. Files can be up to 50 MB for free.