Electronic signature or digital signature?
The two terms are often mixed up. An electronic signature is any electronic sign that you agree to a document, such as a typed name, a drawn signature or an image of your handwriting. That is what this tool creates.
A digital signature is a cryptographic seal made with a certificate. PDF readers can check it and show a warning if anyone changed the file after signing. This tool does not create one, and the signed PDF can still be edited by anyone who has it.
In many places, including under the US ESIGN Act and the EU eIDAS Regulation, a simple electronic signature can have legal effect. Some documents, such as certain property, court or notarised papers, need a stronger form of signature or ink on paper. If you are unsure, ask the person or organisation that sent you the document what they accept.
Getting a signature that looks natural
On a phone or tablet, drawing with a finger or stylus gives the most natural result. Sign larger than you would on paper, filling most of the box, and shrink it on the page afterwards. Small drawings scaled up look shaky.
With a mouse, the typed option is often neater. Dancing Script and Great Vibes are both handwriting-style fonts; try each to see which suits your name.
For the most authentic look, sign a sheet of white paper with a dark pen, photograph it in good light and upload it. Keep Make white background transparent on and raise the cut-off slider if grey paper tone still shows, or lower it if thin strokes start to disappear.
Blue ink is common on signed paperwork because it helps show an original from a photocopy; black is the safe choice for forms that will be printed in greyscale.
Before you send the signed PDF
Open signed.pdf and check every page you signed. Make sure the signature sits on the line and does not cover printed text. If the recipient needs your initials on each page, place a small copy on every page; the same signature can be placed as often as you like.
If the file is too big to email afterwards, compress the PDF. To send only the signed pages, use Split PDF, and to add a cover letter or attachments, merge the PDFs into one file.
Some forms have fillable fields for a name or date. This tool does not fill those fields, so type into them in your PDF reader first, save, and then add your signature here. Placing text on top of an empty field works visually, but the field itself stays blank.
Keep a copy of what you signed. Because a visual signature is just part of the page, your saved copy is your record of the document as it was when you signed it.