How to sign a PDF without uploading it (free, in your browser)

Most online "sign a PDF" tools work by uploading your document to a server, stamping it there, and letting you download the result. For a contract, a lease, or a medical form, that means the most sensitive paperwork you handle travels to someone else's computer.

You do not need to upload anything to sign a PDF. Modern browsers can render and edit PDFs entirely on your device, and that is exactly how the pdfmend editor works: the file is opened locally, your signature is drawn locally, and the signed copy is exported locally.

• A PDF on your device (up to 100 MiB and 250 pages during the free launch).
• Any modern desktop or mobile browser. There is no account, no install, and no watermark on the export.

1. Open the editor and choose your PDF. The file is read by your browser only — nothing is sent to a server.
2. Click the Signature button in the toolbar.
3. Draw your signature with a mouse, trackpad, or finger. On a touch screen, drawing with a finger works well for a natural stroke.
4. Place the signature on the page, then drag the corner to resize it and position it over the signature line. Zoom in first if the line is small — an oversized signature that spills into surrounding text is the most common thing people redo.
5. If the form also needs a date or your full name in type, add them with the Text tool.
6. Click Export PDF. The signed copy is generated in your browser and saved to your device.

Leases and service agreements rarely want a single signature. The common pattern is initials on every page and a full signature at the end, and the flow above extends to it naturally:

1. Open the Pages sidebar to see a numbered list of the document's pages, and use it to jump to each page that needs a mark.
2. On each of those pages, click the Signature button and place a mark. Initials can be your full drawn signature resized small — drag the corner down until it fits the initials box — or a shorter scribble you draw for the purpose.
3. Add per-page dates or "read and approved" text with the Text tool where the contract asks for them.
4. Before exporting, step through the page list once more from top to bottom and confirm every required spot is marked. It is much cheaper to catch a missed initials box now than after the counterparty returns the file.

Every placed mark stays its own object until you export, so a signature that landed badly on page 7 can be moved, resized, or deleted without disturbing the marks on any other page.

If you sign documents regularly, redrawing your signature each time gets old fast — and a redrawn signature never comes out quite the same twice. pdfmend can remember your signature so the next document takes seconds: draw it once, save it, and the saved version is ready to place the next time you open the Signature tool.

The important part is where it is remembered. A reusable signature is stored in your browser's local storage on your own device — never on a server — and it expires automatically after 30 days. Practical consequences of that design:

• The saved signature exists only in the browser you saved it in. Another computer, another browser on the same machine, or a private window will not have it.
• After the 30-day expiry it disappears on its own; just draw and save a fresh one when that happens.
• The account page lists every item held in local storage, and Clear all local data removes them all instantly, without a network request. Use it whenever you want the slate wiped — for example after signing on a machine that is not exclusively yours.
• On a genuinely shared or public computer, the safer habit is to skip saving entirely and draw the signature fresh each time.

In many situations, yes. A drawn (visible) signature is widely accepted for everyday agreements, and laws such as the U.S. ESIGN Act and the EU eIDAS regulation recognize electronic signatures in general. Two honest caveats:

• pdfmend adds a visible signature mark, not a cryptographic, certificate-backed digital signature. Some counterparties — courts, some government filings — specifically require certificate-backed signing.
• Requirements vary by country and by document type. When the stakes are high, confirm what kind of signature the receiving party accepts.

A signature is biometric-adjacent data: its shape is unique to you. When you draw it on a signing service's website, both the signature and the signed document typically pass through their servers and may be retained under their policies. When you sign locally, there is nothing for a service to retain: pdfmend has no document upload operation, so your file, your signature strokes, and the exported result stay with you.