Sign a Lease or Form PDF Without Printing It

You can sign a PDF without printing it by creating your signature on screen (drawn with a mouse, finger or stylus, or typed in a handwriting style), clicking where it belongs on the page, and downloading the signed copy. For everyday paperwork such as rental forms, permission slips and invoices, that simple electronic signature is usually all that's asked for. The whole job takes a couple of minutes, and the document never leaves your device.

Let's walk through a realistic example: a six-page lease renewal that needs your initials at the bottom of pages 1–5 and a full signature with the date on page 6.

Before you start: what kind of signature is this?

A drawn or typed signature placed on a PDF is a simple electronic signature: an image of your signature on the page. It's different from a certificate-based digital signature, which cryptographically seals the file and shows who signed it and whether it changed afterward.

Some contracts require an advanced or qualified electronic signature, for example under the EU's eIDAS regulation, and those need a certificate-based signing service. If the sender asks you to "sign with a certificate" or uses a dedicated e-signature platform, use what they specify. This guide explains how the tool works and isn't legal advice; if you're unsure whether a signature type is valid for a particular contract, ask the other party or a lawyer.

Step 1: Create the full signature

Open Sign PDF and choose the lease. Under 1. Create your signature you have two options:

• Draw: sign on the pad with your mouse, trackpad, finger or stylus. On a phone or tablet, a finger signature usually looks more natural than a mouse one. Use Clear to try again.
• Type: enter your name in Your name and pick a Style: Script, Handwritten or Calligraphy. These use handwriting fonts installed on your device, so the exact look varies between computers and phones.

Then:

1. Pick an Ink colour. The default is dark blue, which makes the signature easy to tell apart from the black printed text.
2. Tick Add today's date for page 6. The date is written under the signature in your device's date format, such as 10/7/2026 on a US-English system.
3. Click Use this signature. The tool trims the empty space around your strokes, so the signature box fits it tightly.

Step 2: Place it on the right page

Under 2. Click on the page where it should go:

1. Choose Page 6 of 6 from the Page menu. A preview of that page appears.
2. Set Signature width. It's measured as a percentage of the page width, from 8% to 70%, starting at 28%. On a US Letter page (8.5 inches wide), 28% is about 2.4 inches, a typical signature line.
3. Click on the signature line in the preview. The signature is centered where you click.

Alternatively, click Place at bottom right of this page for a standard corner position. Misplaced it? Click the signature on the preview to remove it, then click again in the right spot.

Step 3: Add initials to the other pages

Every placement in one session uses your current signature. So for initials, work in two passes:

1. Click Download signed PDF now, with only the page 6 signature placed.
2. Click Choose another PDF and load the file you just downloaded (it ends in -signed.pdf).
3. Create a new signature: draw or type your initials, untick Add today's date, and click Use this signature.
4. Lower Signature width to around 10–12% so the initials stay small.
5. Place them on pages 1 to 5. Switch pages with the Page menu; every placement is kept.
6. Click Download signed PDF again.

You now have a lease with initials on each page and a dated signature on the last.

Tips for a clean result

• What you see is what you get. Placement is calculated as a fraction of the page, so the signature lands in the same place on the full-size PDF as on the preview.
• Rotated pages work. Signatures are placed the way you see the page, even on landscape or rotated pages.
• Fill in form fields first. The tool adds a signature image only; it doesn't fill text fields. Complete the form in your PDF reader, save it, then sign.
• Locked PDFs need unlocking. A password-protected file can't be signed until the password is removed. If you have it, use Unlock PDF first.
• Keep an unsigned copy in case you need to correct something.

Should you add a password afterward?

If the signed document contains personal details such as an address, ID number or bank information, and you're emailing it, consider encrypting it with Protect PDF and sending the password through a different channel.

FAQ

Is my signature stored anywhere?

No. The signature image and the PDF are processed in your browser and disappear when you close the page. Nothing is uploaded.

Why does my typed signature look different on my phone?

The handwriting styles rely on fonts installed on each device. Phones and computers ship with different fonts, so the same style can render differently. Drawing your signature avoids that.

Can the other person tell the signature was added digitally?

Usually, if they look closely, since it's an image on the page rather than ink. That's normal for electronic signatures, and it's why some formal contracts call for certificate-based signing instead.

Ready to sign? Open Sign PDF and follow the steps above.