Editing & Signing
How to Fill Out a PDF Form
Complete a PDF form — whether it has real fields or is a flat scan — and make sure your answers survive the trip to the recipient.
There are two completely different kinds of PDF form, and the first thing to do is work out which one you are holding.
Which kind is it?
Click where an answer should go. If a cursor appears and you can type, it is an interactive form with real fields. If nothing happens, it is a flat form — a picture of a form, with nowhere to type.
| Interactive form | Flat form | |
|---|---|---|
| Clicking a box | Cursor appears | Nothing happens |
| How to complete it | Type into the fields | Add text on top of the page |
| Risk | Values not displaying for the recipient | Text landing slightly off the line |
| Fix before sending | Flatten the form | Check alignment |
Filling an interactive form
- 1Open it in any reader and click into the first field.
- 2Tab between fields — it is faster and it stops you missing one.
- 3Complete every required field; blanks are the main reason forms are returned.
- 4Sign it if a signature is required.
- 5Flatten the document before sending.
Filling a flat form
A flat form has no fields, so you add text on top of it. Place each answer on the line, match the size to the printed text around it, and keep to black. Take particular care with boxes intended for one character per box — spacing them by eye is fiddly and a misaligned answer can invalidate the form.
Alternatively, print it, complete it by hand, and scan it back. For a form with awkward character boxes that is often genuinely faster.
Before you submit
- Read every field back — a typo in a reference number costs you a resubmission.
- Confirm every required field is complete.
- Check the signature and date are present.
- Open the finished file in a different reader to confirm the answers appear.
- Check the file size against any limit the portal states.
Do it now
Sign PDF
Add digital signatures to PDFs. It runs in this browser tab — your file is not uploaded anywhere.
Open Sign PDFFrequently asked questions
Why can I not type in this PDF form?+
It is a flat form with no interactive fields. Add text on top of the page instead.
Why did my completed form arrive blank?+
Field appearances did not render for the recipient. Flatten the form before sending and it cannot happen.
Can I save a partly completed form?+
Usually yes in a modern reader. Some older forms only allow printing, in which case complete it in one sitting.
How do I fill a form on a phone?+
Interactive forms work in most mobile readers. Flat forms are easier on a larger screen, where alignment is easier to judge.