--- title: "Quick start: fill and sign your first PDF in 5 minutes" description: "Open a PDF, fill its fields, add your signature and download the finished copy. A five-minute walkthrough of the PDFBetter editor, with or without an account." url: https://help.pdfbetter.com/getting-started/quick-start-fill-and-sign-pdf/ collection: "Getting started" section: "Start here" updated: 2026-10-18 publisher: "PDFBetter (AI Generated Inc.)" --- # Quick start: fill and sign your first PDF in 5 minutes > Open the PDF, click each field and type (Tab moves to the next), click **Sign** → **Add signature**, place it, then **Done** → **Download**. Without an account you can do everything except the download, which asks you to create a free account first. - Counts toward: Edited-document downloads This walkthrough takes a form you need to complete, a lease, a permission slip or a tax form, from upload to a signed PDF on your computer. It works on PDFs with fillable fields and on flat scans. 1. **Open the PDF**: Go to [Fill PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/fill-pdf/) or [Sign PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/sign-pdf/) and choose your file, or drop it on the dashboard and click **Open** in the **Uploads** tray. In the editor, stay in **Edit & fill** mode and make sure **Fill out** (not **Edit PDF**) is selected in the toolbar. 2. **Fill the fields**: Click a field and type. Press `Tab` to jump to the next field and `Shift` `Tab` to go back. The **To-do** panel lists the fields still empty. If the PDF has no fields, you'll see **No fillable fields found — click anywhere on the page to type**: pick **Text** (`T`) and click on the line. 3. **Tick boxes and add the date**: Use **Check**, **Cross** or **Dot** to mark printed boxes, and **Date** to place today's date in the format you choose. 4. **Create your signature**: Click **Sign** → **Add signature**. Type your name and pick a handwriting style, or choose **Draw**, **Upload an image**, **Capture with webcam**, **Add via QR code** (sign with your finger on your phone), **Add via email** or, where available, **Add via text message**. Click **Save and sign**. 5. **Place it**: Click where your signature should go. Drag a corner to resize it. Add initials the same way with **Sign** → **Add initials**. 6. **Download the signed PDF**: Click **Done** → **Download**. Choose **Keep fillable** (fields stay editable) or **Flatten** (everything is drawn into the page), set the **File name**, and click **Download**. ## If you're not signed in You can do every step above as a guest. At **Download**, PDFBetter asks you to create a free account. Your draft moves into the new account, and the download continues where you left off. A free account includes 3 [edited-document downloads](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/download-edited-pdf/) a month; downloading the same unchanged document again doesn't count twice. > **Tip:** Tick **Save for next time** in the signature dialog (account needed) and your signature is one click away on every document. Manage saved signatures in **Settings** → **Profile & signatures**. > **Note:** To get someone else's signature, don't sign for them: use **Request signatures** from the **Sign** menu or **Done** menu. Each person gets their own link by email; see [Request signatures from other people](https://help.pdfbetter.com/signing/request-signatures/). ### The signature looks too big or sits above the line. Select it and drag a corner to resize, or nudge it with the arrow keys (hold Shift for bigger steps). ### Can I print instead of downloading? Yes: **Done** → **Print**. Printing counts as a download, so it also needs a free account. ### The form came from a government site and won't fill. If it's password-protected, unlock it first with [Unlock PDF](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/unlock-pdf/). If it has no fields, type over the lines with the **Text** tool. ## Related articles - [Fill out a PDF form](https://help.pdfbetter.com/forms/fill-out-pdf-form.md): Open the PDF and stay in Edit & fill with Fill out selected. Type into the form's own fields, press Tab to move between them, and click anywhere on a flat form to add text. Then choose Done → Download. - [Sign a PDF yourself](https://help.pdfbetter.com/signing/sign-pdf-yourself.md): Open the PDF, choose Sign → Add signature, create your signature (type, draw or upload) and select Save and sign, then click where it goes. Download with Done → Download. This adds a visual signature; to collect other people's signatures with evidence, request signatures instead. - [Request signatures from other people](https://help.pdfbetter.com/signing/request-signatures.md): Open the document and switch to Invite to sign. Add each recipient's name, email and role, choose In order or All at once, place each person's fields, then choose Send, check the title, message, reminders and expiry, and select Send. - [Download your edited PDF, fillable or flattened](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/download-edited-pdf.md): Click Done → Download, choose Keep fillable or Flatten, decide whether to Include comments and sticky notes, and click Download. Downloading needs a free account; Free includes 3 edited-document downloads a month, and Pro is unlimited. - [Use PDFBetter without an account](https://help.pdfbetter.com/getting-started/use-pdfbetter-without-account.md): You can open every tool without signing up. Browser tools (merge, split, rotate, images to PDF and more) download free. Edits you make in the editor are a guest draft kept for 1 hour; downloading, sharing or sending them needs a free account. --- Source: https://help.pdfbetter.com/getting-started/quick-start-fill-and-sign-pdf/ · PDFBetter Help Center · Last checked against the product 2026-10-18. Questions: support@pdfbetter.com