PDF Tower

How to Type on a PDF

Open the PDF below and type. Form fields take your typing directly. On a PDF with no fields, you place a text box anywhere on the page.

Runs on your device. Your file is not uploaded.

Free to open, fill and preview. Downloading the result needs PDF Tower: $89.99 a year or $12.49 a month. See pricing

How to type on a PDF

  1. Click Choose a PDF above and pick the file. It opens in this browser tab and is not uploaded.
  2. If the PDF has form fields, click a field and type. Tab moves to the next field. On a phone, tap a field and type in the larger box that opens.
  3. If there are no fields, choose Text, click where the words go and type. Drag the box to move it, and use its corner handle to resize it.
  4. Add a date, a check mark or your signature the same way, with Date, Check and Sign.
  5. Look over the preview, then download the finished PDF with a plan.

Can I type on a PDF for free?

Often, yes. Chrome's built-in PDF viewer can fill out form fields and download the PDF with your changes. On an iPhone, the Files app can fill out forms and add a signature. If one of those does what you need, use it.

PDF Tower is free to open, type and preview. You pay only to download, print or share the finished file.

When PDF Tower helps

  • Text anywhere: on a scan or a flat PDF with no fields, you place text, dates and check marks where you tap, and move them freely.
  • Real fields: a form's own fields are filled as fields, then flattened into the page, so the download looks the same in any PDF reader.
  • No gaps: letters the PDF's fonts can't draw are flagged before you pay, not discovered in the download.
  • Official forms: IRS, USCIS, SSA and state forms open from the agency's current edition. Browse official forms
  • Private: your answers save in this browser as you go. The file is never uploaded.

Good to know

  • The saved PDF is flattened. Your text becomes part of the page, and the fields are no longer editable.
  • Typing on a scan works with Text. The scan's own words can't be changed.
  • To change words that are already in the PDF, use Edit PDF and its Edit text tool.
  • Some government forms are XFA forms. What XFA means for filling

What's free and what's paid

Opening a PDF, filling it on screen and the live preview are free, with no account. Downloading, printing or sharing the filled, signed or edited file needs a plan: PDF Tower is $89.99 a year or $12.49 a month, and the monthly plan cancels anytime. Compare plans

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