How to sign a PDF on Android

Sign with Adobe Acrobat Reader

Acrobat Reader is free on Google Play. Adobe's old standalone Fill & Sign app has been retired, and Adobe now points people to Acrobat Reader instead.

1. 1

   Open the PDF in Acrobat Reader

   Tap the PDF in your email or Files app and choose Acrobat Reader, or open it from inside the app.

2. 2

   Tap Fill & Sign

   Select Fill & Sign from the bottom menu. Use Text box to type into the form, tapping where each answer goes.

3. 3

   Add your signature

   Select Signature, then Add signature. Draw it with your finger, use an image, or take a photo of your signature on paper, then tap Done.

4. 4

   Place it and save

   Tap the page where the signature belongs. Hold it to move it, drag the handles to resize, then save or share the file. Adobe warns that signatures are permanent once saved, because the PDF is flattened.

Initials work the same way: choose Signature, then Add initials. These are the menu names in Adobe's current Android help. If your app looks different, it's probably an older version: there, tap the edit icon, then Fill & Sign, then the signature icon, then Create Signature or Create Initials.

Use the Google Drive app

The Drive app has two tools, and neither is a dedicated signature tool, so it works best for quick forms.

• Fill in a form: open the PDF in Drive, tap Edit at the bottom right, then Form Filling. Type your answers and tap Save. This only works on PDFs with real fillable fields, not scans.
• Draw a signature: open the PDF and tap the annotate button at the bottom right. Pick the pen, sign with your finger or a stylus, then save. Annotating needs Android 6.0 or later.

When an app on your phone isn't enough

Both apps stamp your signature onto the page. That's fine when you're the only signer and nobody will question it. It's not enough when:

• A customer, tenant or new hire has to sign, not you. Emailing a PDF back and forth for signatures is slow and messy.
• You need a record of who signed, when, and from which device, in case the signature is ever disputed.
• The signer needs a little guidance, like which fields to fill and where to sign.

Sign or send with SignMaster on Android

SignMaster works in Chrome or any browser on your Android phone, so there's nothing to install. Each document you send is an envelope: one or more documents going to one or more signers.

1. 1

   Start an envelope

   Open usesignmaster.app, sign in or start free, and upload the PDF, or a JPG or PNG photo of a page.

2. 2

   Add who signs

   Tap Add me if you're signing, then add anyone else by name and email and set the order.

3. 3

   Drop in the fields

   Place signature, initials, date signed, text and checkbox fields for each signer.

4. 4

   Send or sign

   If you're first, tap Sign now. Others get a link to sign on their own phone, with no account. If they're with you, tap Sign in person and hand them your phone.

Once everyone signs, each signer gets the signed PDF by email with a certificate of completion listing who signed, their email and IP address, the device, and the time of each step.