How to sign a PDF without Adobe
Adobe Acrobat is the best-known PDF app, so people assume they need it to sign anything. You don't. Every major computer and phone already has a free way to put a signature on a PDF, usually in the app that opens PDFs in the first place. Find your device below, then see what changes when someone else has to sign.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 3 min read
On this page
The free tool on each device
| Device | Built-in tool | Where to tap or click |
|---|---|---|
| Mac | Preview | Show Markup Toolbar, then Sign. Full steps |
| Windows PC | Microsoft Edge | Open the PDF in Edge, then Draw. Full steps |
| Any computer | Google Chrome | Draw, then Pen, then Done. Full steps |
| Chromebook | Gallery | The signature button, then Place signature. Full steps |
| iPhone | Markup | Add, then Add Signature. Full steps |
| iPad | Markup | Add, then Add Signature, with a finger or Apple Pencil. Full steps |
| Android | Google Drive app | The annotate button, then the pen. Full steps |
| Samsung Galaxy | Samsung Notes | Import PDF, then write with your finger or S Pen. Full steps |
Each of these places a picture of your signature on the page, which is what Adobe's free Fill & Sign does too. For most forms you send back yourself, that's all you need.
Three habits that save a redo
- Fill every blank before you sign. Many free tools flatten or lock what you've added once you save, and going back to fix a typo can mean starting over.
- Save a copy, not over the original. Keep the unsigned PDF, so a mistake costs you nothing. Chrome asks whether to download with or without your changes; pick with.
- Check the file you attach. Signed and unsigned copies often share a name. Open the attachment before you send it back and make sure your signature is on it.
What Adobe does that these don't
Acrobat's paid tools add two things the free apps don't. One is a certificate-based digital signature, where a digital ID proves the signer's identity and shows if the file changed. A few organizations insist on it; if yours asks for a digital ID, a drawn signature won't do. The other is sending a PDF to other people to sign, with their fields placed and a record kept. For the difference between the two kinds of signature, read electronic vs digital signatures.
Get other people's signatures without Adobe
SignMaster runs in any browser, so there's nothing to install for you or for the people signing. Each send is an envelope: one or more documents going to one or more signers.
- 1
Upload the PDF
Click New envelope and upload the PDF, or a JPG or PNG of a page. A fillable PDF's own fields come in with it, and SignMaster offers to turn them into its fields.
- 2
Add the signers
Add each person by name and email and set the order. Click Add me if you're one of them.
- 3
Place their fields
Drag on signature, initials, date signed, text, checkbox and dropdown fields, each one assigned to a signer, and mark the ones they must fill.
- 4
Send
Signers get an email link that opens on any phone or computer. When the last one finishes, everyone gets the signed PDF with a certificate of completion: names, emails, IP addresses and the time of each step.
The signed PDF carries a SHA-256 fingerprint of each original file on its certificate, so a later change to the document can be detected. That's a different method from a certificate-based digital signature, and for most business agreements it's the record people actually need.
Questions? Answers.
Can I sign a PDF for free without Adobe?
Yes. Preview on Mac, Edge on Windows, Chrome on any computer, Gallery on a Chromebook, and Markup on iPhone and iPad all sign PDFs for free. On Android, the Google Drive app has a pen.
Is a signature added without Adobe still legal?
The app doesn't decide that. Under the federal ESIGN Act, an electronic signature can't be denied legal effect just because it's electronic, whichever tool made it. What matters is that you meant to sign.
What if the sender asks for a digital signature?
Ask whether they mean any electronic signature or a certificate-based digital ID. A digital ID needs software that supports one, such as Acrobat. Most businesses mean an ordinary e-signature.
How do I get someone else to sign a PDF without Adobe?
Send it through an e-signature service that emails them a link. They sign in their browser with no software, and you get the signed copy back automatically.
Sources
- Apple, Fill out and sign PDF forms in Preview on Mac · support.apple.com
- Microsoft Edge, How to use the Microsoft Edge PDF reader · microsoft.com
- Google Chrome Help, Manage PDFs in Chrome (computer) · support.google.com
- Chromebook Help, Check, edit & sign PDFs · support.google.com
- Samsung, Import and export PDFs with Samsung Notes · samsung.com
- 15 U.S.C. § 7001, ESIGN Act general rule and consumer consent (govinfo) · govinfo.gov