eSign PDF Guide
Tax forms, rental applications, medical intake forms — they all come as PDFs. Here's how to fill them out on your iPhone without ever touching a printer.
PDF forms are everywhere. W-9s, lease applications, school enrollment, insurance claims, job applications. They arrive as PDFs and they expect you to print them, fill them in by hand, scan them, and email them back. That workflow died years ago. Your iPhone can handle the entire process. The challenge is that most PDF viewers only let you view forms, not fill them. And Apple's built-in tools can't add text to non-interactive PDF fields, can't insert dates automatically, and can't check checkboxes. You need an app that treats every PDF as a fillable form.
There are two types of PDF forms. Interactive forms have clickable fields you can type into. Non-interactive forms are just flat images of a form with blank lines. Most PDF apps only handle the first type. When you open a non-interactive PDF form (which is most of them), the app just shows you a static image. You can't type on the lines, you can't check the boxes, you can't add the date. Apple Markup lets you add text, but positioning it precisely on form lines is painful. There's no date tool, no checkbox tool, no way to align text to existing form fields. eSign PDF treats every PDF as fillable. Tap anywhere to add text. Use the date tool to auto-insert today's date in your preferred format. Check boxes with a single tap. Add your signature where it's needed. The AI even detects where form fields are and highlights them for you.
Open eSign PDF and tap +. Import from Files, Photos, or scan a paper form with your camera. The app handles both interactive and non-interactive PDF forms. If someone emailed you the form, open the attachment and share it to eSign PDF.
eSign PDF's smart detection automatically highlights signature fields, date fields, and name fields on your form. Green highlights show you exactly where to fill. For non-interactive forms, just tap anywhere on the document to place text.
Use the text tool to type your name, address, and other details. Use the date tool to auto-insert today's date in MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, or YYYY-MM-DD format. Check boxes with the checkbox tool. Add your signature and initials where needed. Customize font size, weight, and color.
Tap Done to preview your filled form. Export as a flattened PDF so nothing can be changed after you send it. Share via email, AirDrop, Messages, or save to your Files app. The filled form looks professional, like you printed and hand-filled it.
eSign PDF gives you every tool you need: text fields with size and weight controls, auto-date stamps in multiple formats, checkboxes, signature placement, initials, and stamps. AI field detection shows you where to fill. Everything exports as a flattened, tamper-proof PDF. Works on any PDF, interactive or not. No internet needed, no account needed. Your forms stay on your device.
Yes. eSign PDF lets you add text anywhere on any PDF, even if it doesn't have interactive form fields. Just tap where you want to type and start filling. The app treats every PDF as fillable.
Yes. The date tool auto-inserts the current date. Choose from MM/DD/YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, or YYYY-MM-DD format. Customize the font size, weight, and color to match the form.
Use the checkbox tool to add checkmarks anywhere on the form. Tap once to check, tap again to uncheck. Works on both interactive checkboxes and non-interactive printed checkbox images.
Yes. The text is clean, properly sized, and aligned. When you export as a flattened PDF, it looks like a professionally filled form. Recipients can't tell the difference between this and a printed-and-scanned version.