Fill in a PDF form
Type your answers, then get a PDF that actually contains them. Optionally flatten so nothing can alter them afterwards. Nothing is uploaded.
The problem this actually solves
A fillable PDF is a document with real form fields in it, and the awkwardness is almost never in typing — it is in saving. Some built-in browser viewers will happily let you fill a form, then save a copy with every box empty, because they were only ever showing you the fields rather than editing the file. Phone viewers often do worse and do not show the fields at all.
Here the answers are written into the document and the field appearances are regenerated, so the file carries its contents with it whatever opens it next.
Flatten, or keep it editable?
| Keep editable | Flatten | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers can be changed later | Yes | No |
| Shows correctly in every viewer | Usually | Always |
| Good for | A form somebody else still has to complete | Anything you are submitting |
| Reversible | — | No |
If you are sending the form somewhere final, flatten it. If it is going round an office first, leave it editable and flatten the last version.
What is not a form
A scanned page that looks like a form is not one. If somebody printed a form, filled nothing in, scanned it and sent you the PDF, there are no fields inside it — only a picture of boxes. No tool can fill that in for you, here or anywhere. Two things do work:
- Sign PDF lets you place text or a signature anywhere on the page, which covers most of what people need.
- OCR will at least make the printed words searchable, which helps if you are looking for a particular clause.
Common questions
My browser can already open the form. Why use this?
Opening it is not the problem; saving it is. Several built-in viewers let you type into a form and then save a file with the boxes empty again, and plenty of phone viewers will not show the fields at all. This writes the answers into the file itself, so what you send is what you typed.
What does flattening do?
It turns your answers into part of the page, so no later viewer can change them or fail to display them. That is usually what you want when submitting something. It cannot be undone, so it is off unless you ask for it — keep the form editable if somebody else still has to fill part of it in.
It says my PDF has no fillable fields.
Then it is not a form in the technical sense — most likely a scan, or a document that only looks like a form. Nothing can fill those in automatically because there are no fields to fill. Use the signing tool to write on it instead.
Why are the labels odd?
They come from the field names inside the file, and those are written for software rather than people — names like f1_04[0] are common on official forms. The tidied name is shown first and the real one underneath, so you can match it against the page if there is any doubt.
Are radio buttons and dropdowns supported?
Yes: text boxes, checkboxes, radio groups, dropdowns and multi-select lists. Buttons and signature fields are skipped, because there is nothing sensible to type into them.
Is the form uploaded?
No. It is read, filled and rebuilt in your browser. That matters here because these forms usually carry a name, an address and a date of birth on the first page.