To sign a PDF yourself, open it in a tool you probably already have, add your signature or your typed name, and save it. Adobe Acrobat Reader (a free download), Preview on a Mac, Markup on an iPhone and Microsoft Edge can all do this. The steps for each are below.
To get someone else to sign, and be able to prove it later, use a signing service. You upload the PDF, add each person’s name and email, place their fields and send. Each person gets a private link, signs on their phone or computer, and you get back a sealed file with a record of who signed and when. A signature image pasted onto a file records none of that.
The short answer
- Signing your own copy? Use the free tool already on your computer or phone. The next section shows where it is.
- Need someone else’s signature? Use a service that sends them a link and keeps a record. Upload the PDF, add the people, place the fields and send.
- Document in Word? Save it as a PDF first.
- Document on paper? Take a photo of it. Pixasign takes a photo as well as a PDF.
Sign your own PDF for free
Four free options cover most people. We read each vendor’s own pages on 20 October 2026. The steps below follow those pages, and the vendors can change them.
| Tool | How you add your signature |
|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat Reader | Adobe offers Reader as a free download and says it lets you fill in forms and add a signature. Adobe’s Acrobat help page on filling and signing says to select E-Sign, select the Fill in form fields tool, select the place on the page, then type, or drag a signature or initials in from the E-sign panel. |
| Apple Preview on a Mac | Open the PDF, show the Markup toolbar and click Sign. Apple says you can make a signature on the trackpad, by holding a signed sheet of white paper to the camera, or on a nearby iPhone or iPad. Then drag it into place and resize it. |
| Markup on an iPhone | In a supported app such as Notes or Photos, open Markup, tap Add Signature, sign with your finger and tap Done. Apple says the iPhone saves the signature for next time. Drag it to where it goes. |
| Microsoft Edge | Edge is a PDF reader as well as a browser. Microsoft’s page lists highlight, mark up and add text, and says you can save a copy of the PDF with your changes. Use Add text to type your name where it goes. That page says nothing more about signatures, so look at the toolbar in your own version. |
For signing your own copy of a form, these tools are fine. If the only person who ever has to rely on your signature is you, stop here.
One thing they do not do is get other people to sign. You would email the file, wait, and hope it comes back the right way.
Where a pasted signature falls short
Say you send a PDF to a customer. They paste in a picture of their signature, save it and email it back. Now suppose they later say they never agreed to it. What can you show?
- Who placed the signature on the page?
- When did they do it?
- Was the rest of the file changed before or after?
- Was it the document you sent, or a different version?
A picture on a page cannot answer any of those. A signing service is built to answer them.
| Question | Pasted image, emailed back | Signing service such as Pixasign |
|---|---|---|
| Who signed? | Nothing in the file says | Each person has a private link and their own fields, and is recorded separately on the trail |
| When? | No record in the file | Our server records the time of each step. The sealed file carries a timestamp from DigiCert, independent of us |
| Changed since? | Nobody can tell | Change a byte the seal covers and it breaks; anything added later shows as a change at pixasign.co.uk/check |
| What the signer needs | Software that can paste an image | The email with their link, on a phone or a computer. No app, no account, no password |
A fair limit: a record of the email address, device, IP address and approximate location points to who signed. It is not a passport check.
How to get a PDF signed in Pixasign
- Upload the file. A PDF, or a photo of a paper document.
- Add the people. Type each name and email address. Up to 20 people can sign one PDF. You can set the signing order or turn it off.
- Place the fields. Put each person’s signature box, and any other fields for them, where you want them on the page. Each person gets their own fields, so nobody signs in the wrong place.
- Send it from your computer. Each person gets their own private link by email.
- They sign on a phone. They tap the link, read the document and sign with a finger, or tap to adopt their typed name. They do not install anything or make an account, and they never pay.
- The last signature seals the file. You get the sealed PDF and an evidence certificate: who signed, when, from what device, from what IP address and approximate location.
- Check it any time. Drop the PDF into pixasign.co.uk/check. It is free, with no account and no card.
The seal is one DigiCert timestamp over the whole file, applied once, after the last person signs. The time of each earlier step comes from our server. The evidence certificate lists the events in a hash-chained trail. The sealed PDF itself is the evidence. The guide to electronic signature evidence goes into more detail.
The check page decides whether Pixasign sealed a file from Pixasign’s own records. It tells you whether we sealed it and whether it has changed since.
Word, Excel and paper
- Word or Excel: save or export the file as a PDF first, then upload that.
- Paper: take a photo and upload it. Make it flat, well lit and square-on so the signer can read it.
- A document with several people: that is still one document. Many pages and up to 20 signers count once.
A quote is a common case. Our guide to getting a quote signed online covers what to put in one.
Is it legally binding?
For most ordinary business documents, yes. Section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 makes an electronic signature admissible in evidence on whether a communication is authentic or has been kept intact. The Law Commission’s 2019 report concluded an electronic signature is capable of executing a document, where the signer intends to authenticate it and any formalities for that document are met.
Two limits. Some documents have their own formalities: deeds, wills and certain land matters among them. Pixasign does not do witnessing. Formalities are a question for whoever drafts the document, not for a software supplier. And Pixasign does not offer qualified signatures; our page on simple, advanced and qualified signatures explains the levels. The law is set out in is an electronic signature legally binding in the UK, and our guide to electronic signatures for UK small businesses puts the law, the proof and the pricing together. None of this is legal advice.
What it costs
Signing your own copy with the tools above is free. Pixasign is free for 1 user and 3 documents a month, with no card and no time limit. Paid plans are one flat monthly price with unlimited users: £19 a month inc VAT for 50 documents, £59 a month inc VAT for 200 and £99 a month inc VAT for 500. Unlimited users means no charge per user: an account starts with room for 200 active people, and we raise that free on request. There is no minimum term, and you can cancel from Account at any time.
Send your first PDF for signature
Free for 3 documents a month, no card. Upload one, add the people and see what comes back.
Start free UK company. Documents stored in the EEA.Questions
- Is a typed name a valid signature?
- It can be. The Law Commission’s 2019 report says the common law does not prescribe any particular form or type of signature; what matters is whether the signer intended to authenticate the document. In Pixasign a signer can draw with a finger or tap to adopt their typed name. A typed name is easy to type and easy to dispute, so what helps is a record of who did it, when and on what device.
- Do the people signing need an account?
- No. They need no app, no account and no password, and they never pay. They open the link from the email and sign, on a phone if they like. You send from your computer.
- What file types can I upload?
- A PDF, or a photo of a paper document. For Word or Excel, save as PDF first.
- How many people can sign one PDF?
- Up to 20. Each has a private link and their own fields. You can set the order or turn it off. It counts as one document, however many pages it has.
- Can I sign my own copy free without a service?
- Yes. Acrobat Reader, Preview, an iPhone’s Markup and Edge are all described above. Use a signing service when you need someone else to sign and a record you can show later.
- Can I use this for a deed or a will?
- No. Pixasign does not do witnessing, and deeds and wills are outside what it does. Formalities are a question for whoever drafts the document, not for a software supplier.
- How does someone check the signed file?
- They drop it into pixasign.co.uk/check. It is free and needs no account. It says whether Pixasign sealed the file and whether it has changed since.