How To Make a PDF Signable for Free

You can sign any PDF if you have the right tool. You may not be able to edit a PDF’s content or move it around, but you can always place an electronic or digital signature onto the document. All you need is Smallpdf’s e-signature tool, eSign. Or our newest signature tool at Sign.com.

With both tools, you’ve got two options: You can sign a PDF yourself, or request a signature from someone else. We’ll walk through how to handle both cases.

And that’s it! Easy, right? A pro tip: if you have a contract to sign in a different file format, such as Word, you can always convert the document to PDF format with our PDF converter tool and then sign it using the eSign tool. Our connected workflows make this super-easy: After converting your document, you’ll find the eSign option on the right-hand side. When you click on it, your converted Word file will be ready for signing—you don’t need to download the file first. Neat, right?

Our eSign tool is available to everyone for free a limited number of times per day. If you need to sign many digital documents in one day, check out our Pro plans. Becoming a Smallpdf Pro member will remove any restrictions and also open the doors to a variety of cool features, such as strong compression, advanced PDF editing, and much more. We’ll even store your signatures online for a swifter signing experience. You can give it a try for free with our 7-day free trial.

How To Make a PDF Signable & Request Others to Sign

1. Open Sign.com.
2. Upload your PDF document.
3. Once it loads, click “Add signee.”
4. Fill out the signee’s details.
5. Click "Save".
6. Once you're done adding signees, click "Finish".
7. Review the list of signees, add a custom message if needed, and click "Confirm and send"

Those who need to sign the PDF will get a notification that the document is ready for their attention. They can access the eSign tool from the email to sign the PDF. Since you’ll be creating fillable signature fields for all signees anyway, the signing process should be simple and quick. Once the document is signed, we’ll send both you and the signee a confirmation email to download the final version of the PDF. At any time during the signing process, you can open the document on our platform and track the progress—this is especially handy if there are many people involved, as you can see who accessed and signed the document at what time.

If you need to sign before requesting a signature, you can do so as well. For fillable PDF forms, feel free to work through the form fields using our eSign tool. If you need to add text, there is the “Text Field” option on the right side. You’ll also find the options to add a date field and a checkbox.

Sign PDFs Anytime, Anywhere

The eSign PDF tool, and Sign.com signature tool, let you create and sign contracts wherever you are—in the office, at home, or on the go. It’s online and browser-based, so you can bookmark the page for quick PDF signatures from your laptop, PC, or even mobile phone. All you need is a working internet connection.

Happy signing!