Sign PDF

Three different things are commonly called "signing":

• Image signature. A drawn or scanned-image of your handwritten signature placed on the page. This is what 95% of "e-signing" requests actually need. Legally accepted in most jurisdictions for most documents.
• Typed signature. Your name in a cursive font. Lighter-weight, often used for click-to-sign acceptance.
• Digital signature (PKI / PKCS#7). A cryptographic signature with a verifiable certificate chain — proves who signed and that the document hasn't been altered since. Required for some regulated contexts (notarization, EU eIDAS qualified signatures).

SwissArmyPDF handles the first two well. For PKI signatures, use Adobe Acrobat or a dedicated service like DocuSign.

1. Open Sign PDF.
2. Drop the PDF you need to sign.
3. Create your signature in the signature pad: draw with mouse/finger, type your name, or upload an image of a real signature.
4. Pick a page and position, then place the signature.
5. Add date stamps or initials if needed.
6. Click Save and download the signed PDF.

Your most recent signature is saved in your browser so you don't have to redraw it next time.

Short answer: in most contexts, yes. Long answer depends on jurisdiction and the document type.

• United States (ESIGN Act + UETA). Electronic signatures are generally legally equivalent to handwritten ones for most commercial contracts, employment documents, and personal agreements. Exceptions: wills, divorce decrees, court orders, certain real estate documents — these often require wet signatures or notarization.
• European Union (eIDAS). Three tiers: simple, advanced, and qualified electronic signatures. A drawn image is a simple e-sig — admissible in court but with less evidentiary weight than an advanced or qualified signature. For high-stakes EU contracts, use a qualified provider.
• UK. Similar to EU; Electronic Communications Act 2000 + eIDAS as retained law.
• Canada, Australia, most of Asia. E-signature laws generally accept drawn signatures for non-regulated contracts.

What SwissArmyPDF doesn't do: provide an audit trail (when signed, by whom, IP address, document hash). For audit-trailed e-signatures, use DocuSign, HelloSign, or Adobe Sign.

The short version: for routine signing, SwissArmyPDF is free and fast. For anything that needs notarization-style proof, use a dedicated service.

• Draw on a touchscreen or trackpad — the result looks far more natural than a mouse-drawn signature.
• Or scan a real signature. Sign a piece of plain white paper, photograph it, crop tight, upload as PNG with transparency. This gives you a re-usable signature image you can save.
• Size matters. Real signatures on contracts are ~50–80 pixels tall. Don't oversize.
• Position thoughtfully. On the signature line, slightly above so the line shows through. Add a date next to the signature.
• Flatten before sending. Run signed PDFs through Flatten PDF so the recipient can't drag your signature off.

• Signature looks pixelated. The signature pad captures at the size you drew. Draw bigger, then scale down when placing.
• Page out of range error. Specify a page number within the document's range (1 through page count).
• Signature was saved but not visible in another viewer. The receiving viewer may not be rendering annotations. Flatten with Flatten PDF first.
• Signature appears in the wrong spot. Coordinates are from the bottom-left of the page in PDF points (1pt = 1/72 inch). Y increases up.
• Need multiple signatures on the same page. Sign, save, re-open the saved file, sign again.

Contracts, NDAs, employment agreements, wire-transfer authorizations — the documents you sign are almost always confidential. Uploading them to a free online signing site means your signature, the document content, and often metadata about you (IP, browser) land in someone else's database. SwissArmyPDF signs in your browser using pdf-lib and signature_pad. The document and your signature never leave your device.

• Flatten PDF — lock the signature into the page so the recipient can't move it.
• Merge PDF — combine the signed document with cover letters or appendices.
• Compress PDF — shrink the signed file before emailing.
• PDF Form Filler — for filling form fields on the same document before signing.