How to sign a document in Word on Windows, Mac and iPhone

Insert a signature image in Word, with no scanner

Microsoft's page "Insert a signature in a Word document" starts with: "You need a scanner to do this." Its steps are:^[1]

1. Write your signature on paper, scan it and save it as a .bmp, .jpg or .png file.
2. Open the image in Word, select it, and on the Picture Format tab select Crop to trim it.
3. Right-click the picture and choose Save as Picture, so you can reuse it in other documents.
4. To add it to a document, select Insert > Pictures. (On a Mac, Microsoft's steps say Insert tab, Pictures > Picture from File.)

A scan or a phone photo of paper usually carries the paper's background, so the signature sits in a white or grey box over the signature line. You can avoid both the scanner and the box:

1. Open our free signature maker, draw or type your signature, and download signature.png. It has a transparent background and runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
2. In Word, select Insert > Pictures and choose signature.png.^[1]
3. Set the picture's text wrapping so it sits in front of the text, then drag it onto the signature line. Resize it from a corner so it keeps its shape.

This gives you an image of your signature. It is not a digital signature, and on its own it does not show who placed it or when.

Draw your signature on the Draw tab

Microsoft's page "Draw and write with ink in Office" covers Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac, and Word for iPhone and iPad.^[3]

1. If your device is touch-enabled, the Draw tab is on already. If not, Microsoft says to go to the File tab, select Options, choose Customize Ribbon and pick Draw.
2. Switch to Print Layout. Microsoft: "In Word, you must be in Print Layout to draw with ink. If the Draw tab is grayed out so that you can't select a pen, on the View tab, select Print Layout."
3. On the Draw tab, select a pen, then pick its thickness and colour.
4. Sign with your finger, a digital pen or the mouse. On a Mac, press Esc to stop inking.

Microsoft adds that on a Mac you can draw on the trackpad with your finger instead of the mouse.^[3] Ink drawn this way behaves like a shape: it can be moved or copied, which is worth knowing before you send the file.

Save a reusable signature block

If you sign often, save your signature picture with your name and title as a block you can insert in one step. Microsoft's steps:^[1]

• Windows: type your details under the picture, select both, then Insert > Quick Parts > Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. Name it and choose AutoText in the Gallery box. To use it: Insert > Quick Parts > AutoText.
• Mac: select the picture and text, then on the Insert menu select AutoText > New. To use it: Insert menu, AutoText > AutoText.

Add a signature line for someone else to sign

A signature line marks where another person signs. Microsoft's steps for Word on Windows:^[1][2]

1. Click where you want the line, then select Insert > Signature Line > Microsoft Office Signature Line. (Microsoft's digital signature page names the same command Add a Signature Line, in the Text group of the Insert tab.)
2. In the Signature Setup box, add the suggested signer's name, title and email, and any instructions.
3. The signer opens the file, right-clicks the line and chooses Sign. They can type their name, ink a signature, or choose Select Image to use a picture of it, then select Sign.

Microsoft: "When you sign a signature line, you add a visible representation of your signature and a digital signature." That needs a signing certificate, covered next.^[2]

Digital signature for Word: signing with a certificate

A digital signature is not a picture. Microsoft calls it "an electronic, encrypted, stamp of authentication" that "confirms that the information originated from the signer and has not been altered". To create one "you have to have a signing certificate, which proves identity", issued by a certificate authority, and "A certificate is usually valid for a year".^[2]

To add an invisible digital signature to the whole file on Windows: File tab > Info > Protect Document > Add a Digital Signature, choose a Commitment Type, type a purpose, then select Sign. Microsoft: "After a file is digitally signed, the Signatures button appears, and the file becomes read-only to prevent modifications."^[2]

Microsoft's digital signature page lists Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021, 2019 and 2016 under "Applies To". It lists no Word for Mac version.^[2] On iPhone, iPad and Android, Microsoft says "you can't add a digital signature line to Word or Excel files from your mobile device without installing an add-in."^[4]

Electronic signature for Word or digital signature: what each proves

When the other side needs proof of who signed and when, use a signing service, which keeps an audit trail. Read what an e-signature audit trail should contain.

How to sign a Word document on iPhone or iPad

Microsoft's page for Word on mobile devices offers two ways to draw a line for a signature (hold down the underscore key, or a single-cell table styled to show one line) and adds: "You can also insert a graphic of an actual signature."^[4] The Word app's Draw tab on iPhone and iPad has basic inking, so you can also sign with your finger.^[3]

Our guide to signing a PDF or Word document on iPhone covers the phone routes, including Apple's own Markup and Preview tools for PDFs.

Send it as Word or as a PDF, and does it count?

A signed Word file can still be edited by whoever opens it, unless it carries a digital signature. If the other side should not change it, send a PDF copy. To sign a PDF instead, see how to sign a PDF electronically on each device.

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)).^[5] Wills, many property deeds and some powers of attorney follow stricter rules. Check your country and document type in the e-signature legal checker, or read which documents need more than an e-signature. This is information, not legal advice.

If you need someone else to sign and want a record of who signed and when, that is a signing service's job. 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. See pricing.