Want to sign a PDF without the hassle of printing, singing and scanning? With your signature set up in Preview, you can insert it into any document easily. Find out here how to add a signature to a PDF file on a Mac using Preview (and change its color, size and angle as well).
First, Listening Straight
Owls are famously good listeners, honing in on sounds far away with easy precision.
The owl’s ears are not only highly sensitive, however; they are also slightly out of place. If one assumes the head to be horizontally and vertically symmetric, the left ear is typically too low on the head and shifted out of the vertical plane as well.
So, to slightly twist the head for better echolocation, the owl has to look straight, and to hear straight, it must twist its head.
Now, the hearing is but one of many signature strigine traits. Speaking of signatures, how about adding one to a PDF document in slightly off balance a manner? In Preview, you can:
How to Add a Signature to a PDF File on a Mac Using Preview
Time needed: 2 minutes
To insert a handwritten and scanned signature to a PDF document on a Mac using Preview:
- Create a signature for use in Preview.
- Show the markup or the form filling toolbar.
Here’s how: Click Show markup toolbar or Show form filling toolbar in the normal Preview toolbar; if you see Hide markup toolbar instead, for instance, the toolbar is already visible.
Preview keyboard shortcut: Press Command Shift A to show and hide the markup toolbar. - Click Sign in the markup or form filling toolbar.
Menu alternative: You can also always select Tools | Annotate | Signature from the menu.
- Select the desired signature to insert it into the document.
Pick the page: Go to the page on which the signature should appear before inserting so you do not have to move it too much around.
- Position the signature in the desired location.
Here’s how: Use three finger drag to move the signature into position and the handles to change its size; hold Option while you resize to keep the signature centered in its original spot.
Rotate: To rotate the signature, twist two fingers on a trackpad with the signature selected. - Optional: Change the signature’s color.
Here’s how: In the markup toolbar, click Border color, then pick the color you’d like to use for the signing ink.
Local color: Select Show Colors… to pick a color from the document (or elsewhere on the screen) using the pipette.
No more print-sign-scan drudgery?
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How to Add a Signature to a PDF File on a Mac Using Preview: FAQ
Can I add an electronic signature, too?
No.
Preview will not sign PDF files electronically with a cryptographic signature, and you cannot verify digital signatures directly with it either. You can always add a cryptographic signature after adding the graphical one in Preview, of course.
On an iPhone? Add a Handwritten Signature to a PDF on an iPhone
Using Chrome? How to Sign PDF Files Right in Google Chrome
(Tested with macOS Tahoe 26.0, Sequoia 15.1–15.4, Sonoma 14.2 and Ventura 13.3; first published June 2023, last updated October 2025)