How to sign a PDF in Gmail

On a computer

1. 1

   Save the attachment

   Open the email, hover over the PDF at the bottom of the message, and click the arrow icon to save it to your computer.

2. 2

   Sign it in a PDF app

   On a Mac, open it in Preview and use the Sign button. On Windows, open it in Microsoft Edge and use Draw, or use Adobe Acrobat Reader's Fill & Sign. Chrome works on either: open the PDF in a tab, select Draw, then Pen, sign, and select Done. Our Mac and Windows guides have every step.

3. 3

   Reply with the signed file

   Back in Gmail, reply to the message, click the paperclip, and attach the signed PDF. Check the file name so you send the signed version, not the original.

On a phone

• iPhone: save the attachment to the Files app, open it, tap Add, then Add Signature. Then reply in Gmail and attach the file from Files. See how to sign a PDF on iPhone.
• Android: open the attachment in Adobe Acrobat Reader and use Fill & Sign, or open it in the Google Drive app and draw with the annotate pen. Then attach it to your reply. See how to sign a PDF on Android.

If you pay for Google Workspace

Click Add to Drive on the attachment to save a copy to Google Drive. Some paid Google Workspace plans can request eSignatures on PDFs in Drive: Workspace Individual, plus Business Standard and Plus, certain Enterprise plans and Education Plus once an admin turns it on. You place fields and send the PDF to up to 10 signers. Google points people without a Workspace plan to Workspace Individual. Details are in our Google Drive guide.

Why the attachment dance gets old

• It's slow for the other person. Every signer has to save, sign in another app and reply. Many of them won't know how.
• Versions multiply. "Contract-final-signed-v2.pdf" sitting in five inboxes is how the wrong copy gets filed.
• There's no record. A signature dropped into a PDF doesn't show who added it or when.
• Big or sensitive files. Attachments get forwarded, and they can bounce off size limits.

Send it for signature instead

With SignMaster, the email your signer gets in Gmail is a link, not an attachment. They tap it, sign in their browser and they're done. Each document you send is an envelope: one or more documents going to one or more signers.

1. 1

   Upload the PDF

   Save the attachment, then start a new envelope in SignMaster and upload it.

2. 2

   Add signers and fields

   Add each signer's name and email, set the order, and place signature, initials, date and text fields. Click Add me if you sign too.

3. 3

   Send

   Signers get an email saying the document is ready to review and sign. It opens on any phone or computer, with no account.

4. 4

   Get the signed copy in your inbox

   When the last person signs, everyone gets an email with the signed PDF and its certificate of completion attached.

If you're the one signing a PDF someone emailed you, you can do the same: upload it, tap Add me, then Sign now. You'll get a signed copy with a record of when you signed.