How to scan several pages into one PDF on your iPhone

With Notes, Files or Preview

1. 1

   Start a scan

   In Notes, open a note, tap the attachments button and choose Scan Documents. In Files, tap More, then Scan Documents. On iOS 26 and later, the Preview app has Scan Documents too.

2. 2

   Work through the stack

   Put the first page down and hold the phone steady; in automatic mode it captures as soon as it sees the page edges. Swap in the next page and it captures again. Every capture is added to the same scan.

3. 3

   Fix a page before you finish

   Tap a page's thumbnail to adjust its corners, filter or rotation. If you capture manually, Apple shows Retake or Keep after each shot.

4. 4

   Finish

   When the last page is in, finish the scan. Notes keeps it as one PDF in the note; Files asks where to save it; Preview keeps it in Preview, where you can rename or move it.

Pages out of order? Apple's guide for Preview on iPhone says to show the thumbnails, touch and hold one, and drag it above or below another. In the same view you can delete a page, rotate it, or tap Scan Pages to scan more pages into the existing PDF. In Notes, a scanned page's menu offers Rotate, Filters, Crop Page and Insert Blank Page.

With SignMaster: fix pages as you go

The SignMaster app uses the same Apple camera, then gives you a review screen built for long documents before anything is saved.

1. 1

   Scan every page

   Open the Scan tab, keep Document selected and tap the shutter. Capture page after page, then finish; the review screen opens with every page.

2. 2

   Reorder in the page strip

   Thumbnails run along the bottom. Tap one to jump to it, or press and hold, then drag it to a new spot.

3. 3

   Retake a bad page

   Select it and tap Delete. Then tap +, choose Scan more pages, capture the replacement and drag it back into place. You can also add pages from Photos or Files.

4. 4

   Tidy the pages

   Crop finds the edges again or lets you drag the corners, Rotate turns a page, and Filter sets the look for the whole document. Size picks Letter, A4, Legal, or Fit to keep each page's own shape.

5. 5

   Save one PDF

   Tap the checkmark, name it, pick a folder and tap Save PDF. The text on every page is read on the phone, so the PDF is searchable.

Before you email it, use Share a copy: the app shows the real size of an Original, Medium and Small version and warns when a file is too big for most email. From the same screen you can sign the document yourself or send it for signature.

Tips for long documents

• Unstaple first. A stapled corner lifts the page and bends the text near the binding.
• Double-sided originals: scan each sheet's front and back in turn, so the pages come out in reading order without any dragging afterwards.
• Bound books: in SignMaster, Book mode captures an open spread and splits it into two pages at the fold.
• Count before you finish. Compare the thumbnails with the paper stack; a missed page is easy to add now and annoying to find later.
• Use a dark, plain surface under white paper so the edges are found every time.

Already scanned the pages separately?

If you ended up with several PDFs, combine them rather than rescanning. In SignMaster's Documents, select two or more and tap Merge. On a computer, the free merge PDF tool joins them in your browser, and how to combine PDFs covers Mac and Windows.