How to Sign a PDF on Windows
A quick free way to sign a PDF on Windows is Microsoft Edge: open the PDF, click Draw and write your signature with the mouse, a pen or your finger. File Acture's Edit & Sign PDF lets you draw your signature in a box, place it on the page and add the date and your name as text, then saves a new copy on your PC without uploading anything.
Updated October 1, 20266 min read
By the File Acture team
A rental contract, a school form or an invoice approval reaches you as a PDF, and all it needs is your signature. Printing it, signing with a pen and scanning it again still works, but a PC can do the whole job in a minute without paper.
This guide starts with Edge and Adobe Acrobat Reader, which are free, then shows what File Acture's editor adds. It also explains what kind of signature this is, because some recipients ask for more than a visible signature.
Can you sign a PDF on Windows for free?
Yes, in two ways. Microsoft Edge, the default PDF reader on Windows 11, needs nothing installed: open the PDF, click Draw, write your signature with a mouse, a pen or your finger on a touch screen, and save the PDF. That is freehand ink, so a signature drawn with a mouse looks only as steady as your hand.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free download from Adobe. Its Fill & Sign tool builds a signature by typing it, drawing it or using an image of it, and places it where you click. Both apps save the signature into the PDF you opened unless you save a copy under a new name, so work on a copy if you need the unsigned original.
- Pick Edge for a one-off form: there is nothing to install, and you sign by drawing.
- Pick Reader if you want a typed or image signature for free; it is a separate download.
How do you add a signature to a PDF with File Acture?
Choose File Acture when you would rather draw the signature in its own box and place it afterwards, when the date and your name should go on the page too, or when the same PDF also needs a correction. In the editor, the Signature tool works in three steps:
- Pick the spot. Click Signature, then click the place on the page where the signature should go.
- Draw it. In the white box of the Signature window, sign with the mouse, a pen or your finger. Clear starts over.
- Insert it. Click Insert Signature and the signature lands at the spot you clicked.
How do you adjust and save it?
Drag the signature onto the signature line. It keeps a fixed size, so sign across the whole white box to get a signature of a good size; to remove one, select it and click the trash-can button. Use Add Text for the date or your printed name; if the document itself has a wrong date or name, change the printed text in the same editor.
Save PDF writes a new copy in your output folder (the Folder row of the main window) with “-edited” added to the original name. The original file stays as it was. To sign another page, go to it and sign again; each signature moves on its own.
Is a signature added this way a real digital signature?
No. Edge, Reader and File Acture all add a visible signature to the page: a drawing, a picture or a typed name. It looks like a signature and works for forms that only ask for one, but it is not a certificate-based digital signature: nothing in the file proves who placed it or shows whether the document was changed afterwards.
Some contracts, banks and government portals ask for a certified digital signature or for a specific electronic signature service. Rules differ by country and by document, and this guide is not legal advice, so check which type of signature the recipient accepts before you sign.
How do you make a signature image that looks natural?
If you will reuse one signature as an image, for example in Adobe Acrobat Reader, make the image once and keep it. A few habits make it look like ink on the page instead of a pasted box.
- Plain paper, dark pen. Sign on white paper with a black or dark blue pen, in even light and without shadows.
- Straight-on and tight. Photograph or scan it square-on and crop close to the ink.
- A transparent PNG if you can. Remove the white background in an image editor and save the result as a PNG, so the signature does not cover the line or text behind it. A JPG works too, but its white rectangle shows.
- Keep the file private. A clean image of your signature is easy to misuse, so don't leave it in shared folders or send it around.
Is it safe to sign a PDF online?
Online signing tools work on a copy of your document on their servers, and some ask for a scan of your signature too. For a lease, a payslip or an ID copy, that is a poor fit. File Acture signs the PDF on your PC and never uploads it or the signature image. To count free runs it sends only the tool's name, the app version and anonymous identifiers, never file names or contents.
The free version of File Acture includes 3 runs on each PC; for unlimited use, see pricing. If the document is sensitive, protect it with a password before you send it, and if it contains details that must not be seen, redact them for good first.
How to sign a PDF on Windows with File Acture
- 1
Open the PDF in the editor
Choose Edit & Sign PDF, add your PDF with Choose Files… or by dragging it in, then click Open Editor.
- 2
Click Signature and pick the spot
Scroll to the page that needs your signature, click Signature, then click the place on the page where it should go.
- 3
Draw your signature
In the Signature window, sign in the white box with the mouse, a pen or your finger. Clear starts over.
- 4
Insert it and place it
Click Insert Signature, then drag the signature onto the signature line. Use Add Text for the date or your name.
- 5
Save a new copy
Click Save PDF. The copy is saved in your output folder and the original PDF stays unchanged.
Draw your signature on a PDF and add the date, right on your PC.
Free to try · runs on your PC
| Method | Signature you can add | Uploads the file | Kind of signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edge, Draw | Freehand ink with a mouse, pen or finger | No | Visible signature |
| Adobe Acrobat Reader, Fill & Sign | Typed, drawn or from an image | No | Visible signature |
| File Acture Edit & Sign PDF | Drawn with a mouse, pen or finger, plus date and name text | No | Visible signature |
| Online signing site | Depends on the site | Yes | Visible or certificate-based, depending on the service |
| Certificate-based digital signature | Issued by a certificate authority or a signing service | Depends on the service | Shows who signed and whether the file changed |
Questions
Can I sign a PDF on Windows for free?
Yes. Edge and Adobe Acrobat Reader are free, and trying File Acture is free too: the free version includes 3 runs on each PC.
Is a signature added this way legally binding?
That depends on the country, the document and who receives it, and this guide is not legal advice. What you add is a visible signature, not a certificate-based digital signature, so ask the recipient which kind they accept.
Can I add the date next to my signature?
Yes. In File Acture's editor, use Add Text to place the date or your printed name anywhere on the page and drag the box into position. Edge has an Add text tool for the same job.
Can I put my signature on more than one page?
Yes. In File Acture, go to each page, click Signature and sign again; every signature moves on its own.
Does signing change or upload my original PDF?
No. File Acture saves the signed PDF as a new copy and leaves the original unchanged, and nothing is uploaded. Edge and Reader write into the file you opened unless you save a copy, so work on a copy there.