How to Fill Out a PDF

Browser PDF viewers

Chrome, Edge and Safari can often fill in simple form fields directly. Download the file after filling to keep your entries, and check that they were saved.

Signing after filling

If you would rather not install anything, eSignSimple's free Sign PDF tool is included with a free account (sign up with Google) and runs in your browser. You upload the PDF (it is encrypted at rest), draw or type a signature, add the date, and download the signed copy with an audit trail; it counts as one of your monthly documents.

Troubleshooting: my entries disappeared

Some viewers keep typed entries only in memory until you save a copy, and some older forms use a format (XFA) that many non-Adobe apps cannot fill. If fields look empty after saving, reopen the form in Acrobat Reader and fill it there. If the form is protected, ask the sender for an unlocked copy. Our Fill PDF tool handles flat and fillable PDFs in the browser with a free account.

Filling a form vs. sending one to be filled

When you are the recipient, fill, sign and return. When you are the sender, it is cleaner to place text, date, checkbox and dropdown fields for the other person and send the document for signature, so you get their answers and signature together with an audit trail. The steps are in how to send a document for signature. For a phone-only workflow, see how to sign a PDF on Android or how to sign a PDF on iPhone.

Common mistakes when filling out PDF forms

Typing dates in the wrong format for the country the form is from, leaving required boxes empty because they did not look like fields, and signing before every page is complete. Read the whole form first, then fill, then sign. If the form was sent to you as a Word file, how to e-sign a DOCX shows how to turn it into a signable PDF. Leases are one of the most common fill-then-sign documents; see how to sign a lease online for the checks worth doing first.

How can you tell whether a PDF is fillable?

Click or tap where an answer should go. If a cursor appears inside a box, the PDF has form fields. Pressing the Tab key is another quick test: in a fillable form it jumps from one field to the next. Acrobat Reader also shows a notice at the top for fillable forms and can highlight all the fields so you can see what is there.

If nothing happens when you click, the PDF is flat: either a scan or a document exported without fields. You can still fill it by adding text boxes on top of the page. A mix is also common, where some answers are fields and others, such as a table at the end, are not. Fill the fields first, then add text for the rest, so you do not end up typing over a field that would have accepted your answer.

Which kinds of fields cause the most trouble?

Checkboxes and radio buttons sometimes need a precise click in the box rather than on the label next to it. Dropdowns only accept values from their list, so if your answer is not there, look for an Other option or ask the sender. Date fields may enforce a format; if the field rejects what you type, try the format shown in the label, for example month first in US forms. Comb fields, the ones split into single-character boxes for things like postcodes or tax numbers, limit the number of characters.

Calculated fields, which add up totals for you, rely on scripts that many viewers outside Acrobat do not run. If the total stays at zero in a browser or phone app, fill the form in Acrobat Reader or calculate the total yourself and check it before you sign. Long answers in small fields shrink to fit or get cut off; if text disappears when you click away, shorten it or attach a separate page.

Should you flatten the PDF after filling it?

Flattening turns your entries into part of the page, so they can no longer be edited and display the same in every viewer. It helps when you are sending a completed form to someone whose software might not show fields properly, or when you want to be sure your answers cannot be changed after you send them. A common way is to print the filled PDF to a new PDF, which most systems offer as a print option.

Do not flatten when the recipient needs to process the fields, for example an organisation that imports form data automatically, or when another person still needs to fill their part. And keep the unflattened copy, so you can correct a mistake without starting from scratch. If you are adding a signature as well, add it at the end, after any flattening, so it is on the version you actually send; how to sign a PDF covers the options by device.

Worked example: a rental application on a phone

Jordan receives a five-page rental application as a PDF attachment and only has a phone. Opening it in the email app, the fields do not respond, so Jordan saves it to Files on iPhone (or opens it in Acrobat Reader on Android) and tries again: the fields work there. Jordan fills name, current address, employer and income, ticks the consent checkboxes, and notices the references table on page four is flat, so adds text boxes for those lines.

Before signing, Jordan scrolls through every page to check nothing was cut off, signs and dates on the last page, then reopens the saved file to confirm the entries are still there. Only then does the file go back to the agent. Landlords can avoid the whole exercise by sending the rental application template for signature with fields already placed, so the applicant gets a guided form instead of a puzzle.

Our take

Sources and further reading

• Fill out and sign PDF forms in Preview on Mac – Apple Support
• Fill and sign PDF forms in Acrobat on mobile – Adobe Help
• Check, edit and sign PDFs – Chromebook Help