How to Fill In a PDF Form Online

Fillable or flat?

A fillable form has real fields, such as text boxes and tick boxes. A flat form is only a picture of a form, perhaps from a scan, and has no fields. This tool works with fillable forms. If yours shows no fields, it is flat.

How to fill the form

• Open PDF Forms and add the fillable PDF.
• The fields are listed. Type your answers and tick the boxes you need.
• Choose whether to lock the answers, so nobody can change them afterwards.
• Press the button and download the completed form.

Why lock the answers?

Locking turns your answers into part of the page. It is a good idea before you email the form, because the receiver cannot accidentally or deliberately change what you entered. Keep an unlocked copy too, in case you need to correct something later.

Add your signature

After filling a form, open Sign PDF to place your signature on the line. Do the typing first and the signature last.

Common mistakes

• Trying a scanned picture of a form. It has no fillable fields.
• Locking the answers before checking them.
• Not keeping an unlocked copy.
• Forgetting to sign after filling.

Fillable forms and flat forms

Some PDF forms contain real fields that you can click and type into. Others are just a picture of a form, and you need to place text on top of the page yourself. Open your form and click on a blank line. If a cursor appears, the form is fillable. If nothing happens, you can still add text boxes where the lines are.

Filling accurately

Gather the information first, such as full legal name, address, ID numbers and dates, so you can fill in everything in one session. Use the same format the form requests, for example day, month, year or the other way round. Capital letters are required on some forms, so read the instructions at the top.

• Zoom in to place text exactly on the line.
• Use a plain font size that matches the form.
• Tick boxes with a clear mark.
• Add your signature last, after checking every answer.

Before you submit

Read through the whole form once more, then save a copy under a new name. Keep the empty original in case you need to start again. If the recipient wants a printed copy, check the printout, because very small fonts or text placed outside the line can look wrong on paper.

Common form-filling mistakes

The most frequent problems are small ones: a date in the wrong format, a name that does not match the identity document, a missed signature line, or text that runs outside its box. Any one of these can lead to a rejected application and a delay of days or weeks.

Treat the form like an exam. Read the instructions, answer in the requested format, and review it from the top before you send it. Ask someone else to look at it, since a second pair of eyes catches mistakes you no longer see.

If you are filling in a form on a phone, rotate it to landscape and zoom in. Small fingers and small fields are a bad combination, and placing text carefully avoids the need for corrections later.

Frequently asked questions