How to Sign a Word Document
The easiest way to sign a Word document is to save it as a PDF and sign the PDF. Word itself has no tool for drawing a signature. It can place a picture of your signature or add a Signature Line, and both take more steps than they should. A signed PDF also cannot be edited by accident after you send it.
Sign PDF: Draw or type your signature on a PDF. Free, and your file never leaves your device.
Open Sign PDFSteps
Convert the .docx with Word to PDF, or use File > Save As and pick PDF in Word.
Open Sign PDF and drop in the PDF.
Draw, type or upload your signature, then drag a box on the page where it should go.
Add the date beside it if you want, then download the signed PDF.
Save as PDF and sign
This route works on any computer, with or without Office. Turn the document into a PDF with the Word to PDF converter. It keeps headings, lists, tables and images. Then open Sign PDF, create your signature by drawing it with the mouse, typing your name or uploading a photo of it, and drag it into place.
Both steps run in your browser, so the contract never leaves your computer. There is no signup and no watermark on the signed file. The guide to signing a PDF covers placement and dates in more detail.
How to insert a signature image in Word
Sign a sheet of white paper, photograph or scan it, and save the image. In Word, click where the signature should go, then choose Insert > Pictures and pick the file. Drag the corners to size it.
To stop it pushing text around, set the picture's text wrapping to In Front of Text and move it onto the line. A picture with a white background can cover lines under it. A PNG with a transparent background looks cleaner.
The signature is only a picture. Anyone with the .docx can move or delete it.
Sign PDF: Draw or type your signature on a PDF. Free, and your file never leaves your device.
Open Sign PDFAdd a Signature Line in Word
Word for Windows can add a formal signature block. Go to Insert > Signature Line in the Text group, fill in the signer's name and title, and click OK. Word draws a line with an X.
The signer double-clicks the line to sign. Word then asks for a digital certificate, and signing with one marks the document as final. This is useful inside companies that already issue certificates. For most people, who have no certificate set up in Office, it is a dead end. Word for Mac does not offer the same Signature Line feature.
Electronic signature or digital signature
A drawn or typed signature is an electronic signature. It shows who agreed, and for many everyday forms and letters it is all that is asked for.
A digital signature is different. It uses a certificate file to prove who signed and whether the file changed afterwards. If you have a .p12 or .pfx certificate, Digital Signature PDF adds one to the PDF, and readers such as Acrobat show the signer and whether the document was altered. Read how to digitally sign a PDF for when you need one.
Signing a Word form someone sent you
Forms often come as Word files with blanks to fill in. Type your answers in Word, save it as a PDF, then sign the PDF. If the form arrives as a PDF with fillable fields, fill it with Fill PDF Form and sign it after.