How do I fill in a PDF form in Adobe Acrobat?

Open the PDF in Acrobat. Go to 'All tools' and select 'Fill & Sign'. Click on any field to type your text. For flat forms, use the 'Add text' tool to place text boxes. Save your document when finished.

What is the difference between an interactive form and a flat form in a PDF?

Feature Interactive Form Flat Form. Typing Click directly into fields to type. Must use 'Fill & Sign' tools to add text boxes anywhere. Recognition Has defined fields for data. Looks like a form but has no active fields for data.

What are 'Fill & Sign' tools used for when completing PDF forms?

Typing text directly into interactive form fields. Adding text boxes to any part of a flat (non-interactive) PDF form. Placing checkmarks or 'X' marks in checkboxes. Adding your signature or initials to a document.

◆ Acrobat · fill

Complete Interactive Forms

I have a completed rental application PDF to submit. Fill the landlord's email, my signature, and today's date, then s…

1ready prompt

1real task

See the prompt↓More fill workflows

When to use it

real situations

You need to apply for a job using an online PDF application form.
You are filling out a government tax document that is a PDF.
You received a PDF contract and need to type your details and sign it.
You want to add your name and address to a scanned document that has no active fields.

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”I have a completed rental application PDF to submit. Fill the landlord's email, my signature,…+

I have a completed rental application PDF to submit. Fill the landlord's email, my signature, and today's date, then send back the completed PDF named RentalApp_Signed_2026-05-01.pdf.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open the PDF form you want to fill in Adobe Acrobat.
2
Select the Fill & Sign tool from the right pane or the Tools menu.
3
Click in a form field to activate it, then type your information.
4
For checkboxes or radio buttons, click directly on the box or circle to select your choice.
5
Continue entering information in all required fields.
6
When finished, save the filled form by choosing File > Save or Save As.
Best practiceIf a form field is not interactive, use the Fill & Sign tool to add text by clicking where you want to type on the form.

In the appWith the API

You can use the Fill & Sign tool to complete both interactive and flat PDF forms directly in Acrobat.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

Interactive FormAn interactive form has special areas where you can click and type directly into the document.ExampleThe interactive form lets you type your details and select options directly on the screen.

Flat FormA flat form is a PDF that looks like a paper form but does not have areas you can type into directly. You need tools to add text.

Reader-Extended PDFA PDF that lets people save their filled-in data using free Acrobat Reader.ExampleYou can fill out and save a Reader-Extended PDF form even if you only have free Acrobat Reader.

FAQ

about this task

Open the PDF in Acrobat.
Go to 'All tools' and select 'Fill & Sign'.
Click on any field to type your text.
For flat forms, use the 'Add text' tool to place text boxes.
Save your document when finished.

You often cannot save data in Acrobat Reader because of how the form was created. If the form's owner did not save it as a 'Reader-Extended PDF', Reader cannot save your typed information. This is a permission setting from the form creator, not a problem with Acrobat Reader itself. To save your data, you either need the form to be Reader-Extended, or you need to use the full Adobe Acrobat program to fill and save it.

Feature	Interactive Form	Flat Form
Typing	Click directly into fields to type.	Must use 'Fill & Sign' tools to add text boxes anywhere.
Recognition	Has defined fields for data.	Looks like a form but has no active fields for data.

If you cannot type into a form field, first check if the document is set to 'Read Only'. Right-click on the PDF file, go to 'Properties', and uncheck 'Read Only' if it's selected. This often fixes the problem and allows you to type.

Typing text directly into interactive form fields.
Adding text boxes to any part of a flat (non-interactive) PDF form.
Placing checkmarks or 'X' marks in checkboxes.
Adding your signature or initials to a document.

Complete Interactive Forms

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails