How do I add my signature to a PDF document using Fill & Sign?

Open your PDF in Acrobat. Go to 'All tools' and select 'Fill & Sign'. Click the 'Sign' icon in the Fill & Sign toolbar. Choose to 'Add Signature' or 'Add Initials'. You can type, draw, or use an image for your signature. Place it on the document and save.

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

Feature Interactive Form Field Flat Form. Typing Click and type directly Must place text boxes with Fill & Sign Recognition Acrobat recognizes it as a field Acrobat sees it as a regular document Ease of Use Easier, designed for data entry Requires more manual placement

Last-Minute Signature Failures in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

DBecome — “help me grow”Across my last [N=6] agency submissions where we faced tight deadlines, where do we…+

Across my last [N=6] agency submissions where we faced tight deadlines, where do we consistently lose time between 'ready to sign' and 'filed'? Show the pattern in who stalls (procurement, legal, project lead), the single recurring error I make when I escalate, and one habit to change so I stop depending on frantic calls the day before filing.

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 fieldsAreas in a PDF form where you can click and type directly.ExampleThe form has interactive fields for your name, address, and phone number.

Flat formThis is a PDF that looks like a form but does not have special areas for typing; you add text anywhere on it.ExampleOn a flat form, you can add text anywhere on the page, not just in specific boxes.

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.

Who does this

4 roles

Office AdministratorHR SpecialistStudentCustomer Service Representative

FAQ

about this task

Open your PDF in Acrobat.
Go to 'All tools' and select 'Fill & Sign'.
Click the 'Sign' icon in the Fill & Sign toolbar.
Choose to 'Add Signature' or 'Add Initials'.
You can type, draw, or use an image for your signature. Place it on the document and save.

You often cannot save data typed into a form in free Adobe Reader because of permissions set by the form creator. The person who made the PDF must save it as a 'Reader-Extended PDF'. If they do not, Reader users can fill the form but cannot save their changes. This is a form setting, not a problem with Adobe Reader itself. To save, you might need the full Acrobat program or ask the form creator to re-save the form correctly.

Feature	Interactive Form Field	Flat Form
Typing	Click and type directly	Must place text boxes with Fill & Sign
Recognition	Acrobat recognizes it as a field	Acrobat sees it as a regular document
Ease of Use	Easier, designed for data entry	Requires more manual placement

If you cannot type into a form field, first check if the document is set to 'Read Only'. Sometimes, a PDF might be opened in a mode that prevents editing. You might need to uncheck a 'Read Only' option in the document properties or ensure you are using the 'Fill & Sign' tool correctly for flat forms.

Fill & Sign is a tool in Adobe Acrobat that lets you easily type text into any PDF form, whether it has interactive fields or is a flat document. It also allows you to add your signature quickly. It's useful because it helps you complete and sign documents digitally without needing to print, fill by hand, and then scan, saving time and paper for last-minute tasks.

Last-Minute Signature Failures

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails