How to fill in a PDF form that isn't fillable

Plenty of forms arrive as PDFs with nothing to click: lines and boxes drawn on the page, meant for a pen. Printing, filling in by hand and scanning it back is the slow way. Typing directly onto the page gives a neater result in a fraction of the time.

Open PDF EditorEdit text, images and signatures in place

Step by step

  1. Open the form in the editor

    Drop the PDF onto the PDF Editor. If clicking the printed text does nothing at all, the form is a scan. It can still be filled in exactly the same way.

  2. Type into each blank

    The Text tool is already on when the form opens. Click right above the line, or inside the box where the answer goes, and type. Drag the text box to line it up. Font, Size and Format set the typeface, size, colour and alignment. A plain font at 10 or 11 points usually matches a printed form best.

  3. Tick the boxes

    Open the Shape menu and choose Checkmark or Crossmark, then drag over the box to draw the mark at the right size.

  4. Save and send

    Save Changes writes everything into the page and shows a preview; Download PDF saves the completed form, ready to email or upload.

If the form already has fields you can click

Some PDFs are real forms, with boxes that take typing in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Acrobat. Fill those in there: the editor does not fill in a form's fields, and text placed over them sits on the page rather than in the field. If you are the one who needs to send a form out, PDF Forms turns a flat PDF into a fillable one.

Signing and dating the form

The editor's Signature tool lets you draw a signature and place it. If the form also needs initials, a printed name and today's date, Sign PDF has all of those in one panel, with the date written in the format you choose.

Common questions

Can I fix a mistake after I have placed the text?

Yes. Click the text box to retype it, drag it to move it, or delete it. Nothing is final until you save.

Can I change something printed on the form?

You can cover it. Whiteout hides an area under a white box, and you can type over it. The original is hidden rather than deleted from the file, so do not rely on it for anything confidential. Redact PDF removes information for good.

Will the answers show up in any PDF reader?

Yes. They are written into the page itself, not held in a separate layer, so the form looks the same in every reader and prints as you see it.

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