How to Fill Out PDF Forms on Mobile Phones for Free

Summary :

Find out how to use PDFgear’s free online tool or mobile app to fill out PDF forms on iPhone, iPad, and Android phones & tablets.

Table of Contents

Filling out PDF forms on your smartphone is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole—except the peg is your finger, and the hole is a tiny touchscreen.

But don’t fret! With PDFgear’s free online service and mobile app, you effortlessly zoom in, tap, type, and even sign with a flourish.

Fill Out a PDF on Mobile Online for Free

The best way to fill out a PDF form is certainly using PDFgear’s online tool—no downloads required.

It lets you fill out forms, add signatures, and save them in seconds, without cluttering up your mobile phone or tablet.

It’s free to use, so don’t hesitate to get started!

Step 1. Use a web browser on your mobile phone and go to PDFgear’s online PDF form filler. Tap on the “Select PDF File” button to open your PDF form.

Select PDF File

Select PDF File

Step 2. Tap the ˅ button in the upper-right corner, and adjust the Zoom In level until you can precisely interact with each of the form fields.

Once done, tap on the upper arrow to close the dropdown menu.

Zoom in

Zoom in

Step 3Tap on any of the existing form fields, if a text cursor shows up, type in text to fill in the area.

Tap and Fill

Tap and Fill

Step 4If the PDF form is non-interactive, tap the upper-right Textbox button, and tap on the PDF page to insert it.

Sometimes you may need to drag on the textbox to reposition it or resize it for better typography.

Insert and Resize Textbox

Insert and Resize Textbox

Step 5. Double-tap the inserted textbox and type in text to fill in the textbox. Repeat the steps for all required form fields.

Double-Tap and Fill

Double-Tap and Fill

Step 6. Once you’re done filling out the form, you can sign on the PDF form. Tap the second ˅ button on the upper-right side, select Signature (the pen button) in the dropdown, and choose to create a SIGNATURE or INITIAL.

You can create a signature by drawing, typing, or uploading an image.

Tap Signature Button

Tap Signature Button

Step 7. Select Create and tap on the PDF to insert the signature. For a better display, drag on the signature box to reposition it, or drag on its corners to resize it.

Insert Signature

Insert Signature

Step 8. Once the PDF form is completely filled out and signed, tap the ˅ button in the upper-right corner and choose Print or Download the PDF.

  • Print: The PDF form will no longer be editable.
  • Download: The PDF form will still be editable by other people.
Save PDF

Save PDF

Pro Tip

If you choose to print the PDF, in virtual printer settings, choose “Save as PDF” on Android, and choose “Save to Files” on iOS.

How to Fill Out a PDF on Android for Free

When you are dealing with larger files, unconnected to the internet, or experiencing TOO much fat fingering, a dedicated app is always a more reliable choice.

PDFgear is a free PDF editor as well as form filler app that allows you to edit, fill out, and sign on PDF forms on Android phones and tablets.

Get PDFgear app to get started!

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Video Tutorial

How to Fill Out a PDF Form

Step 1. Download the PDFgear app to your mobile phone. Open the PDFgear app, and tap on the lower-right Plus icon to add a PDF file to the app, then tap on the PDF in the Files list to open it.

Open PDF

Open PDF

Step 2. Once the PDF is loaded, tap the upper Edit button to go to the PDF editing mode.

Go to Edit

Go to Edit

Step 3. Tap the top Annotate switcher, and select the Fill & Sign toolbox in the pop-up menu below.

Go to Fill Sign

Go to Fill Sign

Step 4. On the upper menubar, you’ll find a variety of form-filling features like textbox, checkmark, cross mark, stamp, and signature.

For inputting text information, tap the upper textbox (|Ab) button.

Insert Textbox

Insert Textbox

Step 5. With the textbox feature selected, tap on the PDF form field to insert the textbox there, and type in text to fill in the area.

Repeat the steps until you’re completed all required fields in the PDF form.

Type in Textbox

Type in Textbox

Step 6. To sign on a completed form, tap the upper signature button.

Tap Signature

Tap Signature

Step 7. If you haven’t already, tap the Create Signature button below, and then you can type your name, draw with a finger, or use a signature image on your device to create a new signature.

Then choose the created signature and tap on the PDF page to sign the form with it.

Create Signature

Create Signature

Step 8. Lastly, tap the triple dots icon () upper-right corner, and tap Share, Print, or Save as to save the filled PDF form as desired.

Save and Share

Save and Share

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How to Fill Out a PDF on iPhone and iPad for Free

The PDFgear app is available on iPhone and iPad as well. Compared with the online version, PDFgear’s free mobile app delivers a smoother zooming experience with pinching/spreading 2 fingers, and more precise form field controls especially with complex PDF forms.

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Step 1. To get started, download, install, and open the PDFgear app. Tap the lower-right Plus icon to add the PDF file to the Files list, then select the PDF within to open it.

Add PDF

Add PDF

Step 2. Tap on the Edit button from the upper-right corner, and switch the editing option to Fill & Sign in the upper box.

Fill & Sign

Fill & Sign

Step 3. Tap on a form field, when the text cursor appears, you can type in the text to fill in the area.

*You can also use AutoFill in the pop-up text editing menu if you have it correctly set up.

Tap and Fill

Tap and Fill

Step 4. If the PDF form fields are not interactive,  tap on the upper-left textbox tool (|Ab), and tap again on the form field to insert it. Then type text into the inserted textbox to fill in the area.

Fill with Textbox

Fill with Textbox

Step 5. Then continue filling out the form with additional textboxes, checkmarks, cross marks, and stamps.

Complete the Form

Complete the Form

Step 6. When you’ve done filling out the form, tap on the Signature button from the upper ribbon, tap Create signature, and create a signature with typing, drawing, or gallery images.

Then select a created signature and tap on a PDF page to insert it there.

Sign PDF

Sign PDF

Step 7. Lastly, tap on the triple dots icon in the upper-right corner to save or share the filled PDF form.

Share PDF

Share PDF

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FAQs

How do I add text to a PDF form on my Android device?

Open the PDF form in PDFgear online form filler, tap the form field > type to add the text to the form. If you need to include more text outside the form fields, click the editing button and select “Textbox” to insert additional text.

Can I sign a PDF document on my mobile device?

Yes, the PDFgear online service and mobile app allow you to fill out and sign PDF forms without printing them out. You can sign on PDFs by typing, drawing, or uploading a signature image.

Do I need an internet connection to fill out a PDF on my phone?

PDFgear mobile app’s form-filling features don’t require your device to connect to the internet.

Can I edit text in a non-fillable PDF on my phone?

PDFgear mobile app allows you to edit existing text in PDF files unless the PDF is a scanned copy.

What if the PDF has no fillable form fields?

If the PDF is not fillable, you can use the PDFgear mobile app to fill in the PDF form with inserted text boxes and shapes.

Can I tick on checkboxes in PDF on mobile?

If the PDF checkboxes are editable, you can tick on it with a simple tap. However, to tick on checkboxes in non-fillable PDFs, you’ll need the PDFgear app for iPhone or PDFgear app for Android, which supports the insertion of tickmark shapes. PDFgear online form filler doesn’t support this feature yet.

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