Sign PDFs on your phone with a signature you draw once
Updated
To sign a PDF on your phone, open it in Doc Scanner by Ginowl, tap Sign, draw your signature once and drag it onto the page. It's saved for next time, so every future form, lease or invoice takes a couple of taps on iPhone or Android.
Signing is part of the free plan. No printer, no scanning a signed sheet back in, no watermark on the result, no ads and no sign-up. Sign a PDF someone e-mailed you, or scan a paper document with the camera and sign that.
Scan with your phone camera to get the app
Doc Scanner by Ginowl — iPhone & Android · Free to download
How to sign a PDF on your phone
Open the document
Open a scan from your library, or bring in a PDF with Tools → Import PDF. On Android you can also open a PDF from another app with Open with or Share and pick Doc Scanner.
Tap Sign
In the document, tap Sign. The Saved signatures sheet opens.
Draw your signature once
Tap New signature and draw with your finger on the Draw your signature pad. Adjust the pen Size if the line looks too thin or too heavy, then save it.
Place and resize it
Pick your saved signature. Drag it into place on the signature line and pinch to resize it. Repeat on any other page that needs a signature or initials.
Export the signed PDF
Tap Share, choose PDF, set the quality and page size, then send it by e-mail or messenger through your phone's share sheet, save it to your files app, or tap Print.
| What you need | How Doc Scanner handles it |
|---|---|
| Create a signature | Draw it with your finger once, with an adjustable pen size |
| Reuse it | Saved signatures, ready for every new document |
| Place it | Drag onto any page, pinch to resize |
| Sign paper documents | Scan with the camera, then sign the scan |
| Sign received PDFs | Import PDF in Tools; Open with or Share on Android |
| Export | PDF or JPG, Low/Medium/High quality, Original/A4/Letter |
| Watermark or ads | None |
| Plan | Signatures are on the free plan; password-protected PDFs are Premium |
Draw your signature once
The slowest part of signing on a phone is getting a signature that actually looks like yours. Doc Scanner gives you a full drawing pad and an adjustable pen size, so take a moment and draw it until you're happy. Then it's saved.
From then on, signing is a pick-and-place job: tap Sign, choose the saved signature, drag it onto the line, pinch to the right size. Keep a full signature and a set of initials as two saved signatures and you can initial every page of a lease in seconds.
Tip: draw a little larger than you think you need. A large signature scaled down stays crisp; a tiny one stretched up looks thin.
Sign a PDF on iPhone
Save the PDF to the Files app first (in Mail, tap the attachment and save it to Files). Then in Doc Scanner open Tools → Import PDF, select the file, and it opens as a document you can sign. Tap Sign, place your saved signature, then Share the signed PDF back to Mail or wherever it needs to go.
Your iPhone also has a quick Markup tool in Files and Mail that can add a hand-drawn signature. Doc Scanner is the better fit when you sign often: your signature is saved and reused, you can scan paper documents and sign them in the same app, and you control page size and quality on export. More iPhone tips are in how to scan documents on iPhone.
Sign a PDF on Android
On Android you can skip the import step. Open the PDF from your e-mail, downloads or messenger, tap Open with or Share, and choose Doc Scanner. You can also use Tools → Import PDF.
Then it's the same flow: Sign, pick or draw your signature, drag it into place, pinch to resize, and Share the signed PDF. Doc Scanner runs on Android 7.0 or later; see the scanner app for Android page for everything else it does.
Scan a paper document and sign it
Got the contract on paper? Don't print, sign and rescan. Scan it with the camera: smart edge detection finds the page, straightens the perspective and captures it automatically. Use Batch for a multi-page agreement so every page lands in one document.
Pick Grayscale or B&W for a crisp, office-ready copy, then sign it on your phone. Your signature, the scanned text and the page layout all end up in one PDF, and that PDF is searchable because Doc Scanner adds an invisible text layer on export. See how to scan multiple pages into one PDF.
Send the signed PDF
Tap Share, choose PDF, and match what the recipient expects: A4 or Letter page size, Medium quality for an e-mail attachment, High for printing. Use Select pages if they only need the signature page.
Signing a document that holds personal data, such as a lease with your ID number? Lock the PDF with a password and AES-256 encryption before you send it (Premium). Here's the full walkthrough for how to scan and e-mail a document.
Have the paperwork as photos instead of a PDF? Turn them into one file first with JPG to PDF, then sign.
Drawn signature vs a certificate-based digital signature
People use “electronic signature” and “digital signature” for two different things, so here's exactly what Doc Scanner does.
- Drawn signature (what Doc Scanner adds): an image of your handwritten signature placed on the page, the same thing you'd get by signing on paper and scanning it. This is what most landlords, employers, schools and clients mean when they ask you to “sign and send back” a PDF.
- Certificate-based digital signature: a cryptographic signature tied to a verified identity, usually created on a dedicated e-signature platform that also sends documents out for others to sign and tracks who signed.
Doc Scanner does the first, and does it well. It does not create certificate-based signatures or send documents to other people for signing. If the organisation asking for your signature requires a specific signing service, use the one it names.
Scan your first document in seconds
Doc Scanner is free to download for iPhone and Android. No ads, no watermarks, no sign-up required.
Scan with your phone camera to get the app
Frequently asked questions
How do I sign a PDF on my phone for free?
Open the PDF in Doc Scanner (Tools → Import PDF, or Open with / Share on Android), tap Sign, draw your signature once, drag it into place and pinch to resize, then tap Share to export the signed PDF. Doc Scanner is free to download and has a free plan for scanning, signing and exporting PDFs. Premium unlocks text extraction, ID card mode, password-protected PDFs and more.
Can I reuse my signature?
Yes. Every signature you draw is kept under Saved signatures, so next time you just pick it and place it. You can keep more than one, for example a full signature and your initials.
Is this a digital signature?
It is a drawn signature: an image of your handwritten signature placed on the page, like signing on paper and scanning it. Doc Scanner does not create certificate-based digital signatures. If an organisation requires a specific e-signature service, use the one it names.
Can I sign a document I received by email?
Yes. On iPhone, save the attachment to Files, then open it in Doc Scanner with Tools → Import PDF. On Android, tap the attachment and choose Doc Scanner under Open with or Share. Sign it, then share the signed PDF back by e-mail.
Does Doc Scanner add a watermark to signed PDFs?
No. Doc Scanner adds no watermark and shows no ads, on the free plan and on Premium.
Can I sign more than one page?
Yes. Place your saved signature or initials on any page of the document, at any size, before you export.
Related pages
- JPG to PDFConvert JPG to PDF on iPhone or Android: combine several photos into one PDF, reorder pages, pick A4 or Letter. No watermark, no upload, on the free plan.
- Scan and emailHow to scan and email a document from iPhone or Android: scan, pick PDF, set quality and pages, then send with Gmail, Outlook or Mail. No watermark.
- Many pages, one PDFScan multiple pages into one PDF on iPhone or Android: Batch mode captures page after page, then reorder, add or merge. No watermarks, no ads, no sign-up.
- No watermarkDoc Scanner is a scanner app with no watermark on PDFs or JPGs, free plan included. No ads, no sign-up, searchable PDFs. For iPhone and Android.
- Free scanner appDoc Scanner is a free scanner app for iPhone and Android: scan, sign and export searchable PDFs on the free plan. No ads, no watermarks, no sign-up.