How to sign a PDF on iPhone, and a Word document too

How to sign documents on iPhone from Mail

Most PDFs to sign arrive by email. Apple describes this route with the Preview app, in "Reply to an email with a PDF attachment in Preview on iPhone":^[5]

1. In Mail, open the email and tap the PDF attachment to view it.
2. Tap Preview in the toolbar to open it in the Preview app, then fill out or sign the PDF.
3. Go back to Mail, open the original email and start a reply, then tap Attach File.
4. Select the updated PDF, add a line of text if you want, and send.

Apple's Markup page also covers PDFs you attach to a new email: tap the attachment, then the Markup button, then the plus button to add a signature.^[2]

Sign a PDF on iPhone in the Preview app (iOS 26 and later)

Apple's iPhone guide has a section for the Preview app, offered for iOS 26 and iOS 27 only. Apple describes Preview as the app "to fill out and sign PDF forms, scan documents, and make changes to PDF documents and images".^[4]

1. Go to the Preview app and open the PDF form.
2. Tap the form button shown in Apple's guide, then tap a field and enter information, or tap the AutoFill suggestion above the keyboard.
3. To add a signature or a text box, tap the button Apple shows for it. Apple: "In signature fields, you can use your finger to sign."^[3][4]

Preview can also turn paper into a PDF: tap Scan Documents on its start screen and capture each page.^[4] That helps when someone sends you a paper form to sign and return.

Save, label or delete your signatures

Apple: "After you create a signature, iPhone saves it to use the next time you add a signature with Markup. You can create multiple signatures, such as a nickname or initials, and delete signatures."^[1]

• Add another signature: in Markup, tap Add Signature. If you already have one, tap Add or Remove Signature, then add a new one.
• Redo a signature while drawing it: tap Clear and sign again.
• Label it: next to New Signature, choose a label such as given name, nickname or initials.
• Delete one: tap Add Signature, then Add or Remove Signature, then delete the one you no longer want.

How to sign a Word document on iPhone

Markup steps above are for PDFs and images. For a Word file in the Word app, Microsoft's page for mobile devices says: "You can also insert a graphic of an actual signature." It also shows two ways to draw a line for a signature, and warns that "you can't add a digital signature line to Word or Excel files from your mobile device without installing an add-in."^[6] Microsoft's inking page says Word for iPhone has basic inking on the Draw tab, so you can sign with your finger.^[7]

To sign a Word document on iPhone with a clean signature picture:

1. Open our free signature maker in Safari. On a phone its drawing pad is taller (900 x 600 pixels), so there is room for your finger. Draw or type your signature and download signature.png, a transparent PNG.
2. In the Word app, insert the picture where the signature goes.^[6]
3. Resize it and save the document.

If the Word file can be saved as a PDF, the PDF steps above work too. More options for desktop Word are in how to sign a document in Word.

How to sign a PDF on iPad, with Apple Pencil

The steps on iPad are the same as on iPhone. Apple's iPad guide says to "Tap Add Signature, sign your name with your finger or Apple Pencil, then tap Done", then drag the signature where it should go.^[8] Saved signatures, labels and deleting work the same way.

So to sign a document on iPad: open it in Files or Mail, tap Markup, add your signature with Apple Pencil, place it and save.

Is a Markup signature a digital signature?

No. Apple describes Markup as a way to add your signature "to images and documents".^[1] It places a drawing of your signature on the page. Apple's guide does not describe a certificate, a time stamp or a record of who signed, which is what a digital signature or a signing service adds. The same is true of a signature picture inserted in Word.

Before you send a contract signed this way, read what the law says. For ordinary contracts an electronic signature usually counts. In the US, the ESIGN Act says a signature "may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form" (15 U.S.C. 7001(a)).^[9] Wills, many property deeds and some powers of attorney follow stricter rules. Check yours in the e-signature legal checker. This is information, not legal advice.

If you need other people to sign and want a record of who signed and when, use a signing service. nodshake is one; access is set up personally after you request it. The free plan covers 3 signed documents a month, pay as you go is $0.45 per signed document with no monthly fee, and Business / API starts from $0.30 per signed document with volume pricing agreed in writing. For other devices, see how to sign a PDF electronically.