How to fill a PDF form
- Open the PDF form. Fillable fields are found automatically and highlighted.
- Type into the text boxes, tick the check boxes, and pick from the drop-down lists, right on the page. Tab moves to the next field.
- On a form without fields (a scan or a flat PDF), choose Text and click where each answer goes; use Check for tick boxes.
- Sign it if it needs a signature: tap "Sign here" on a signature box, or choose Signature and place it.
- Leave "Flatten the form" ticked to lock the answers into the page, or untick it to keep the form editable, then download.
Fillable forms
Most official and business forms made in Acrobat or Word have real fields: text boxes, check boxes, option buttons, drop-down lists and signature boxes. The tool reads them all, shows each one in place on the page, and writes your answers back into the same fields, so other PDF readers see them as ordinary filled-in fields (unless you flatten them into the page).
Read-only fields stay locked. Long answers wrap in multi-line fields, and fields with a character limit stop at that limit, as they do in Acrobat.
Flat and scanned forms
If the form is a scan or was "printed to PDF", there are no fields to fill, only lines and boxes drawn on the page. Choose Text and click on the line: a text box appears where you clicked, ready to type. Drag it to line it up, use the size buttons to match the form's text, and add a Check for each tick box. Text placed this way is real, selectable text in the PDF (not a picture), so it stays sharp and can be searched.
To flatten or not
Flattening is on by default because a filled form you send back usually should not be editable by whoever opens it. Turn it off if someone else still needs to complete their part of the form after you.
Is a signature made here legally binding?
What this tool makes is a simple electronic signature: a picture of your signature placed on the page, the electronic version of signing a printout. It is not a certificate-based digital signature. There is no certificate, no cryptographic seal that shows whether the file was changed later, no identity check and no audit trail. Whether that is enough depends on the document, where you are, and what the person receiving it accepts.
United States
- The federal ESIGN Act says a signature or contract "may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form" (15 U.S.C. §7001(a)). An electronic signature can be any "sound, symbol, or process" a person adopts with the intent to sign (§7006(5)).
- The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA §7) says the same at state level and has been adopted by 49 states and DC. New York has its own law with the same effect (State Technology Law §304).
- ESIGN does not cover wills and testamentary trusts, adoption, divorce and other family-law matters, court orders and filings, and certain notices such as foreclosure or eviction of a home, utility shut-off and insurance cancellation (§7003). Use ink, a notary or the court's own system for those.
- A simple signature proves little about who signed. If the other side may dispute it later, a signing service that verifies identity and keeps an audit trail is the safer choice.
India
- Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, an "electronic signature" means a technique listed in the Act's Second Schedule, such as Aadhaar-based eSign, or a digital signature made with a Digital Signature Certificate (sections 2(1)(ta), 3 and 3A). A pasted image of your handwritten signature is neither, so it does not carry the Act's legal recognition where a law requires a signature (section 5).
- The Act also says a contract is not unenforceable just because it was made electronically (section 10A). Whether a signed PDF is enough for everyday paperwork is up to whoever receives it. If a portal or official asks for a DSC or eSign, this tool is not that.
- The Act does not apply at all to wills, powers of attorney, trusts, contracts to sell immovable property, and negotiable instruments other than cheques (section 1(4) and the First Schedule).
This is general information, not legal advice. For anything high-stakes, ask a lawyer where you live.
After you sign
Uploading the signed copy to a portal with a size limit? Compress the PDF to a set KB, such as 200 KB or 1 MB, and check every page before you send it. Sending a signed document that also holds account numbers or an ID you don't want to share? Redact the PDF so those parts are removed, not just covered.
Questions people ask
How do I know if my PDF has fillable fields?
Open it here. Fields are found automatically, highlighted on the page, and counted in the bar above the pages. If it says there are no fillable fields, the form is flat, and you can type anywhere with the Text tool.
What does flattening a PDF form do?
It turns the filled-in fields into ordinary page content. The answers look the same and print the same, but nobody can change them by clicking into the field. Untick "Flatten the form" if you want the next person to be able to edit the answers.
Can I fill a scanned form?
Yes. A scan has no fields, so use Text to type answers wherever they go, Date for dates, and Check or Cross for tick boxes. Each item can be moved and resized to line up with the boxes on the scan.
Can I type in Hindi, Urdu or other scripts?
Yes, with the Text tool, which writes any script your device can show. Form fields themselves use the PDF’s built-in font, which only covers Western European letters; the tool tells you if a field cannot take what you typed.
Why can’t I fill some government forms?
Some forms, often older Adobe LiveCycle ones, are XFA forms that only Adobe software can fill. The tool tells you when it sees one. You can still type on top of it with the Text tool.
Are my answers saved anywhere?
No. Your answers stay in the page until you download the filled PDF, which is saved on your device. Nothing is uploaded or stored.