Step one
Insert the picture
Click where the signature belongs. Open the Insert tab, choose Pictures, then pick your signature file from your device. Word places the image at the cursor.
How to add a signature on Word
Adding a signature on Word takes about two minutes once you know which menu it lives in. This guide covers putting a signature in Word on Windows and on Mac, creating the signature image itself, adding a digital signature with a certificate, and the neatest way to handle it when a second person needs to sign.
The short version
There are three ways of putting a signature in Word, and they do genuinely different jobs. Pick the one that matches what the document is for.
- Insert a signature imageThe quickest route. Insert, then Pictures, then drag it into place. Good for letters, forms and anything you are printing or filing yourself.
- Insert a signature lineAdds a labelled placeholder with the signer name, title and instructions. Available on Word for Windows.
- Add a digital signatureAttaches a certificate to the file so Word can show whether anything changed after signing.
- Send it for signatureWhen somebody else has to sign, one link beats a round of email attachments. Try it free.
Windows
How to add a signature on Word for Windows
This is the method most people mean by adding a signature to Word: a picture of your handwritten signature, dropped onto the page and positioned so it sits on the line rather than pushing the text around.
Step two
Set how it sits
With the picture selected, the Picture Format tab appears. Open Wrap Text and choose In Front of Text. Now you can drag the signature anywhere, including on top of an existing line. Resize from a corner handle so the proportions hold.
Step three
Save it for next time
Select the signature plus any typed lines under it, then use Insert, Quick Parts, Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery and save it as AutoText. Every future document takes one step instead of three.
Using Insert and Signature Line
A signature line is the formal version. It prints a labelled placeholder that tells the reader exactly who is expected to sign and in what capacity, which is why it turns up on contracts and board papers.
- Open InsertIn the Text group on the Insert tab, choose Signature Line, then the Microsoft Office Signature Line option.
- Fill in the setup boxWord asks for the suggested signer, their title and email, plus any instructions. You can also allow comments and show the signing date.
- The placeholder appearsAn X, a rule, and the name and title underneath it, sitting in the document like any other object.
- Signing the lineDouble-click the line to sign it. You can type your name, choose a signature image, or sign with a digital ID if you have a certificate installed.
If nobody involved has a certificate, the signature line still earns its place as a clear printed placeholder. Signing it inside Word is the part that needs a digital ID.
Adding a signature to Word on a Mac
The signature line setup box belongs to Word for Windows, so on a Mac the dependable route is a signature image. macOS will capture one for you, which makes this the fastest way of creating a signature in Word on any machine.
Step one
Capture it in Preview
Open any document in Preview and show the Markup toolbar, then choose the signature tool. You can sign on the trackpad, hold a signed sheet of paper up to the camera, or sign on a nearby iPhone or iPad. Preview keeps the signature for reuse.
Step two
Get it out as a file
Drop the saved signature onto a blank page in Preview, then export that page as a PNG. That gives you a signature image you can insert anywhere, not just in Preview.
Step three
Insert and place it
In Word, use the Insert menu, choose Pictures and then Picture from File. Select the image, then set Wrap Text to In Front of Text in the Picture Format tab so it can be dragged onto the line.
A signature line made on Windows still opens on a Mac
If a colleague sends you a document that already has a signature line in it, the placeholder shows up as they intended. Adding your own picture on top of it is a perfectly normal way to return a signed copy for filing.
Creating a signature in Word starts with a clean image
Most signatures that look wrong in a document were fine on paper and lost something on the way in. Five minutes spent on the image is the difference between a crisp signature and a grey rectangle.
Sign it properly first
Use plain white paper and a dark pen with a reasonably thick nib. Fine ballpoint lines thin out badly once they are scanned and shrunk to signature size. Sign three or four times and keep the best one.
Scan or photograph it
Straight on, in even light, with no shadow falling across the page. A phone scanner app works as well as a flatbed here.
Crop tight and lift the contrast
Trim to the ink, then push the contrast until the paper goes white and the stroke goes black. Save as PNG.
Drop the white background
In Word, select the picture, then Picture Format, Color, Set Transparent Color, and click the white area. Remove Background handles the fiddlier cases.
Or draw straight into Word
The Draw tab lets you write with a stylus, a finger on a touchscreen, or a mouse. Handy on a laptop with a pen, and there is no file to manage.
Working in PDF instead
If the finished file needs to be a PDF, you can sign a PDF online in the browser and skip the round trip entirely.
How to add a digital signature in Word, and what it actually does
A digital signature in Word is a different thing from a picture of your name. It attaches a certificate to the file, records the state of the document at the moment you signed, and lets anyone opening it later see whether the contents have changed since.
- You need a digital ID firstA certificate either issued by a certificate authority, or one you generate yourself. A self-generated certificate is only trusted by people who have chosen to trust it.
- Where the setting livesOn Word for Windows, open File, then Info, then Protect Document, and choose Add a Digital Signature. Word asks which certificate to sign with.
- What happens nextWord marks the document as final and read only. If somebody edits it afterwards, the signature is flagged as no longer valid, which is exactly the point.
- Signature lines can carry one tooDouble-click a signature line and sign it with your certificate, so the placeholder and the cryptographic proof end up in the same place.
ImageA picture of your signature. Fast, familiar, and carries no evidence of its own.
Signature lineA labelled placeholder that says who signs and in what role.
CertificateCryptographic proof that the file has not changed since it was signed.
Two signers
When you need a second person to sign
Everything above is about signing a document yourself, and Word does that happily. The moment somebody else is involved, a few extra moving parts appear, and they are worth knowing about before you send the file.
- The file has to travelYou attach the document, they save it, sign it, and attach it back. Two or three signers means several versions in flight at once.
- Both sides need the same setupSignature lines and certificates are at their best when everyone is working in Word for Windows with a digital ID already installed.
- Order is yours to keepIf it goes to a customer and then to your own director, you are the one tracking who has it and reminding whoever is sitting on it.
- The record sits in emailWho opened it, when they read it and which version came back are all things you piece together from the thread afterwards.
None of that is a problem for a document you are signing and filing yourself. It is simply the point at which sending the document for signature saves more time than it costs.
Adding an electronic signature to Word documents with SignSecure
Keep writing in Word. When the document is ready and somebody else has to sign it, this is the shorter path from finished draft to filed agreement.
What you keep from the Word way of working
- The same documentYour template, your wording, your layout.
- The same signatureDraw it, type it, or upload the image you already made.
- Room for everyoneSigning order, per person fields and countersigning built in.
- Proof you can rely onSealed, timestamped, and validated anywhere the PDF is opened.
MS Word signature questions
How do I add a signature on Word?
Open the Insert tab, choose Pictures, and select your signature image. With the picture selected, open the Picture Format tab and set Wrap Text to In Front of Text so you can drag the signature onto the signature line. Drag a corner handle to resize it without stretching it.
How do I add a signature to Word on a Mac?
Capture your signature in the Preview app using the trackpad, the camera or a nearby iPhone, export it as an image, then use the Insert menu in Word, choose Pictures and then Picture from File. Set Wrap Text to In Front of Text so the signature can be dragged into place.
What is the difference between a signature line and a digital signature in Word?
A signature line is a labelled placeholder that shows who is expected to sign and in what role. A digital signature is a certificate attached to the file itself, which lets Word show whether the document has changed since it was signed. A signature line can be left as a printed placeholder or signed with a certificate.
How do I make the background of my signature image transparent in Word?
Select the picture, open the Picture Format tab, choose Color, then Set Transparent Color, and click the white area around your signature. Cropping tight and raising the contrast before you insert the image gives a much cleaner result.
Can two people sign the same Word document?
Yes. You can insert a signature line for each person, and each of them can sign with their own certificate. It works best when everyone is on the same setup and has a digital ID ready. When you want one link, a set order and a record of who signed when, send the document from SignSecure instead.
Is a signature added in Word legally binding?
An electronic signature is recognised under the ESIGN Act and UETA in the United States and eIDAS in the European Union when the signer intended to sign and the signature can be attributed to them. A pasted image carries no evidence of its own, so for anything you may need to prove later, use a signing service that records who signed, when and from where.
How do I create a reusable signature block in Word?
Select the signature image together with any typed lines beneath it, then use Insert, Quick Parts, and Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. Save it as AutoText and you can drop the whole block into any future document by name.
Keep going
- Sign a PDF onlineUpload, place your signature and download it, straight from the browser.
- How to create an electronic signatureDraw it, type it or upload it, and keep it ready for every document.
- Electronic signature softwareTemplates, reusable fields, bulk send, audit trails and the open API.
- Add a signature in Google DocsThe drawing tool, the image method, and what to do when it needs to go out for signature.
- Are electronic signatures legally binding?ESIGN, UETA and eIDAS, and the evidence every send carries.
- Start freeFive documents a month, no watermark, no card.
Written the document? Get it signed today.
Upload your Word file, drop the signature field on the line you already made, and send it. Free to try, no card needed.