Typing your name on a PDF isn't a signature — and that matters
The difference between a typed signature, a drawn signature, and a real digital signature — and when each one is enough.
Most "sign PDF" tools just paste your name on top of the page. That's fine for a parking permit and a disaster for a lease. Here's the difference, and what each is actually good for.
Ready to try this yourself?
Open Sign PDF (Test Cert) in a new tab and read the rest while you upload.
When you ask the internet how to sign a PDF, three things come back as if they're the same thing. They aren't. Each one has a different legal weight and a different attacker can break each one differently.
The three kinds of signature
Typed signature. Your name in a script font, dropped on the page. Trivially forgeable — anyone with the PDF can edit it to say anything. Convenience-grade only. Use for: internal forms, permission slips, school stuff.
Drawn signature. You traced your name with a mouse or finger. Slightly less forgeable because it's hard to copy a shaky line exactly. Still not cryptographic — someone could remove your signature and paste it on a different document. Use for: most freelance contracts where both parties know each other.
Digital signature (PKCS#7 / PAdES). Cryptographic. The PDF carries a tamper-evident certificate signed by your private key. If anyone changes a single byte of the document — including the signature image — every PDF reader will flag it. Use for: anything legal, financial, or you'd want to defend in court.
How to tell which one you got
Open the signed PDF in Adobe Reader. If the top of the document shows a blue "Signed and all signatures are valid" banner, it's a real digital signature. If it doesn't show a banner at all, it's just an image — typed or drawn — pasted on the page.
Evixpdf's "Sign PDF" tool produces a real PAdES-style digital signature, with a visible signature appearance on the page *and* the cryptographic backing. So you don't have to choose between "looks signed" and "is signed."
The boring practical advice
For most freelance work, a drawn signature plus a sent-from-your-business-email cover note is enough — it's the email + the contract together that does the work, not the signature alone. For anything bigger, get the digital signature. The five extra seconds it takes is much cheaper than disputing it later.