Skip to content

How to Sign a PDF on a Mac

Preview's built-in signing is genuinely excellent — use it. The browser tool below exists for the cases where you'd rather not store a signature on the machine.

Add a PDF to sign

or drag and drop a file here

The built-in way: Preview (usually the best choice)

  1. Open the PDF in Preview and click the Markup toolbar icon (pen tip).
  2. Click the signature icon → Create Signature — draw on the trackpad, sign white paper and hold it to the camera, or sign on your iPhone if it's nearby.
  3. Click your saved signature to drop it on the page, then drag and resize.

This is one of the best signing experiences on any platform, and the camera capture of a real ink signature looks better than anything drawn with a mouse.

When the browser tool makes more sense

Preview saves your signature on the Mac (and it can sync via iCloud). That's convenient on your own machine — and exactly what you don't want on a shared, family or work computer. The tool above keeps the signature only in the browser tab's memory: close the tab and no trace remains, on the site or on the Mac.

  1. Drop the PDF into the zone above.
  2. Draw the signature (a trackpad works better than a mouse), click Use this signature.
  3. Click the page preview to place it, size it with the slider, click Sign PDF and download.

Is this a legal signature?

Both Preview and this tool place a signature image — not a certificate-based digital signature. Fine for routine paperwork; not the tool for notarized or regulated signing. More on the main Sign PDF page.

Sign PDFs on other devices