Step one
Open a new drawing
Click where the signature should sit. Open the Insert menu, choose Drawing, then New. A blank canvas opens over the document.
How to add a signature in Google Docs
You can add a signature in Google Docs in about a minute using the Drawing tool, or in a few seconds by inserting an image you already have. This guide covers both, plus add-ons, positioning and resizing, and the tidiest way to handle a Google document sign request when it has to go to somebody else.
Four routes, depending on what the document is for
Every method below puts a real signature on the page. They differ in how long they take and how much proof they leave behind.
- The Drawing toolDraw your signature by hand inside the document. Nothing to prepare, and you can edit it later.
- Insert an imageUpload a scan or photograph of your signature. The neatest result, and reusable across every document.
- A Google Workspace add-onInstalled from the Marketplace and used from the Extensions menu, for signing without leaving Docs.
- Send it out for signatureWhen somebody else has to sign, one link keeps the original Doc safe. Try it free.
Method one
How to add a signature in Google Docs with the Drawing tool
This is the one most people are looking for. It lives inside Docs, needs no files and no add-ons, and the result stays editable if you want another go at it.
Step two
Pick Scribble and sign
In the drawing toolbar, open the line tool and choose Scribble. Draw your signature with the mouse, a trackpad or a stylus. Slow and large gives a better result than fast and small.
Step three
Save and close
Choose Save and Close. The drawing lands in the document where your cursor was. Click it and choose Edit any time you want to redraw it.
Two things worth knowing
The Drawing tool is part of Docs in a browser, so on a phone or tablet the image method below is the one to reach for. And because a drawing stays editable, it is best suited to documents you control rather than ones that will be passed around.
Adding a signature to a Google Doc as an image
If you already have a scan or photograph of your signature, this is the faster and better looking option. It also travels well, because an image behaves the same way in a Doc, a PDF and a printout.
- Open Insert, then ImageUpload from computer is the usual choice. Google Drive, Google Photos, a camera and a web address are offered as sources too.
- Pick your signature fileA PNG with a transparent background sits most cleanly on the page, especially over a line or shaded area.
- Choose how text flows around itClick the image and pick In line, Wrap text, Break text, Behind text or In front of text, depending on whether it should move with the paragraph or stay put.
- Tidy it upImage options gives you Adjustments for transparency, brightness and contrast, which is enough to lift a slightly grey scan.
To make the file itself, sign on white paper with a dark pen, photograph it straight on in even light, crop tight to the ink and raise the contrast. Creating an electronic signature covers the whole process in more detail.
Add-ons, and getting the signature to sit exactly where you want it
Two small things make the difference between a signature that looks placed and one that looks pasted: the right add-on if you want e signature Google Docs support inside the editor, and the right wrapping setting once the signature is on the page.
Installing a Google Workspace add-on
Open the Extensions menu, choose Add-ons, then Get add-ons. That opens the Google Workspace Marketplace, where you can search for a signature add-on and install it against your account. Once installed it appears back under Extensions, ready to use inside the document. Some Google Workspace editions also include an eSignature feature in Docs itself, so it is worth asking your Workspace administrator what your edition covers.
Move it freely
In front of text and Wrap text both let you drag the signature anywhere. In line keeps it anchored in the paragraph, which is safer in a document other people will edit.
Resize from a corner
Corner handles keep the proportions. Side handles stretch the signature, which is the single most common reason a scanned signature looks wrong.
Build a signature block
A two column table with hidden borders keeps signature, printed name, title and date lined up neatly for two signers side by side.
Adjust the image
Image options, then Adjustments, gives transparency, brightness and contrast. Enough to rescue a grey scan without leaving the document.
Lock it as a PDF
Download as PDF once the signature is in place, so the layout holds wherever the file goes. You can also sign a PDF online in the browser.
Sending it on
When the document needs to go to someone else for signature
Everything above is about signing a document yourself, which Docs handles well. Once another person is signing, a document that stays fully editable starts asking a bit more of you.
- The Doc stays editableAnyone with edit access can move or change a signature after it is added, so the signed version and the working version are the same file.
- Access has to be managedYou give the signer edit rights to let them add a signature, then remember to change it back afterwards.
- Version history is not a signing recordIt shows the edit, but not the signer identity, the intent to sign, or where they were when they signed.
- Order and chasing are manualWith two or three signers you are the one tracking who is next and reminding whoever is sitting on it.
For a document you write and sign yourself, none of this matters. For an agreement you might need to rely on later, sending it out for signature is the point where a signing service pays for itself.
Esign Google Docs files the straightforward way
Keep drafting in Docs. When the wording is settled and it needs a signature from someone else, this is the shortest route from finished document to filed agreement.
Any deviceSigners draw, type or upload a signature in the browser they already have open.
In orderSequential routing and countersigning, with reminders handled for you.
SealedEvery finished document is timestamped and carries its own audit trail.
Signature in Google Docs questions
How do I add a signature in Google Docs?
Put the cursor where the signature belongs, open the Insert menu, choose Drawing and then New. In the drawing toolbar open the line tool and pick Scribble, draw your signature, then choose Save and Close. The drawing lands in the document and can be moved and resized like any other image.
How do I insert a signature image in a Google Doc?
Open the Insert menu, choose Image, then Upload from computer, and pick your signature file. Google Drive, Photos and a web address are all offered as sources too. Once it is on the page, click it and choose a text wrapping option so you can position it.
Can I sign a Google Doc on my phone?
The Drawing tool is a feature of Google Docs in a browser rather than the mobile apps. On a phone, insert a signature image you have already saved, or open the document in a desktop browser and use the Drawing tool there.
How do I make my signature image transparent in Google Docs?
Click the image, open Image options, and use the Adjustments controls to change transparency, brightness and contrast. A PNG saved with a transparent background before you upload it will always sit more cleanly on the page than one you correct afterwards.
How do I move and resize a signature in a Google Doc?
Click the signature to select it, then choose a text wrapping option. In line keeps it in the paragraph flow, while Wrap text and In front of text let you drag it freely. Drag a corner handle rather than a side handle so the proportions stay correct.
Does Google Docs have an e signature feature?
Some Google Workspace editions include an eSignature feature in Docs, and availability depends on your edition, so it is worth asking your Workspace administrator what you have. You can also install an eSignature add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace through the Extensions menu.
How do I send a Google Doc to someone else to sign?
Download the document as a PDF and send it from a signing service, so each signer gets their own link, signs in a browser, and you get a sealed copy with a record of who signed, when and from where. It also keeps the original Doc safe from accidental edits.
Keep going
- Sign a PDF onlineUpload the PDF you just downloaded, place your signature and send it on.
- 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 on WordSignature images, signature lines and digital signatures, on Windows and Mac.
- Are electronic signatures legally binding?ESIGN, UETA and eIDAS, and the evidence every send carries.
- Start freeFive documents a month, unbranded documents, no card.
Your document is ready. Get it signed today.
Download it as a PDF, drop a signature field on the line you already left, and send one link. Free to try, no card needed.