PDF & Files
Free Sign a PDF Online
Free to useNo sign-up requiredNo watermarkRuns in your browser
This free tool puts a signature onto a PDF. Draw it with a mouse, a finger or a stylus, or type your name and pick a style, then click the page where it should go and set how big it is.
Be clear about what this is: it draws a picture of your signature into the page, which is the electronic equivalent of signing a printout and scanning it. There is no certificate and no cryptography, so it does not prove who applied it. For a qualified or legally certified signature you need a certificate-based service, not a browser tool.
Because it runs entirely on your device, the contract you are signing is never uploaded anywhere — which for a signed document is rather the point.
How this tool works
Open the PDF
Drag it in or browse for it. It stays on your device.
Make your signature
Draw it in the box, or switch to Type and enter your name in one of three styles.
Click where it goes
The page is rendered beside the pad. Click the spot where the bottom-left of the signature should sit, and a dashed box shows roughly how it will look.
Set the size and place it
The size is a percentage of the page width, so it scales sensibly on any paper size. Place it, then download or carry on to another tool.
How it works
Drawing captures the strokes onto a canvas at your screen's device resolution, so the signature is sharp rather than a blurry three-pixel line on a phone. It is exported as a PNG with a transparent background.
A typed signature is drawn as text onto a canvas at 96 pixels and exported the same way, which keeps it crisp when it is scaled down onto the page.
The PNG is embedded into the PDF by pdf-lib and drawn at the position you clicked. PDF coordinates start at the bottom-left corner of the page, which is why the click marks the bottom-left of the signature — the same corner you would line up with a printed signature line.
Nothing about the document leaves the browser at any point, including the signature image.
What this is, and what it is not
- It is: an electronic signature in the everyday sense — a signature image applied to a document, which is how most agreements are signed in practice.
- It is: entirely private, because the document and the signature never leave your device.
- It is not: a digital signature. There is no certificate, no key and no cryptographic seal.
- It is not: identity verification. Nothing here checks or records who drew the signature.
- It is not: tamper-evident. A certificate-based signature detects later changes to the document; an image cannot.
When you need something else
Where a signature must be legally qualified — some property, court and cross-border filings — the requirement is usually for a certificate issued by a trust service provider, held on a card or in an accredited service. No browser tool can produce one, and any that claims to should be treated with suspicion.
For everyday agreements, an applied signature image is what most parties use and accept. Whether it is sufficient for your situation is a question for whoever is asking for the signature.
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is opened and changed by this page on your own device, using your browser. It is never sent to VSThiran and no copy is stored on any server. It is held only in the tab you have open, which is also why reloading the page clears it.
Is this a legally binding signature?
That depends entirely on the document, the jurisdiction and what the other party requires, and it is not something a tool can answer. What this produces is a signature image applied to a page — the same thing as signing a printout and scanning it. It is not a certificate-based digital signature, and it carries no proof of who applied it.
Can I sign more than one page?
Yes, one at a time: place the signature, then change the page number and place it again. Each placement is recorded as its own step, so you can undo one without losing the others.
Can I upload a photo of my signature?
Not at the moment. Drawing and typing are the two ways in. A photographed signature usually needs its background removing before it looks right on a page, and doing that badly is worse than not offering it.
Can I undo something?
Yes. Each operation is recorded as a step, and Undo, Redo and Reset move between them. The last few steps are kept rather than all of them, because every step is a full copy of the document and keeping an unlimited number would exhaust the tab’s memory on a large file.
Guides for this tool
Sign a PDF without printing it
Need to sign a document but don't want to print, sign and scan it? Draw or type your signature in VSThiran, place it on the page and download the signed PDF.
How to stamp DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL across a PDF
Need every page to clearly show DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or a company name? Add a watermark in your browser with VSThiran - set the size, angle and opacity, then download.
How to number the pages of a PDF
Need page numbers on a report, thesis or submission? Pick a format and position, choose where numbering starts - even skipping a cover page - then download, free in your browser.
How to password protect a PDF for free
Add a password to a PDF so it cannot be opened without one - free, with real 256-bit encryption, entirely in your browser. No Adobe Acrobat, no sign-up.