Add Watermark to PDF and Secure PDF File for Server For Free

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Last updated on Jan 20, 2026

Add Watermark to PDF and Secure PDF File for Server with pdfFiller

Learn how to add a watermark to your PDF and secure it seamlessly using pdfFiller. This step-by-step guide covers the benefits, supported formats, and common use cases to help you leverage powerful document management tools.

What is adding a watermark to a PDF file?

Adding a watermark to a PDF file involves placing a design or text overlay onto the document. This overlay can serve various purposes, such as branding, copyright protection, or indicating the document's status (e.g., draft, confidential). Watermarks can be customized in terms of size, transparency, and positioning to best fit the document's layout.

The purpose of adding a watermark to PDF documents

Watermarks are essential for multiple reasons, including:

  1. 1.
    Brand recognition: They help promote a company’s brand when distributing PDFs.
  2. 2.
    Copyright protection: Watermarks deter unauthorized use of intellectual property.
  3. 3.
    Identifying document status: Indicators such as "CONFIDENTIAL" signal the document's confidentiality level.
  4. 4.
    Authentication: They can verify document authenticity and ownership.

How to perform watermarking with pdfFiller: step-by-step

To add a watermark to your PDF using pdfFiller, follow these straightforward steps:

  1. 1.
    Log in to your pdfFiller account.
  2. 2.
    Upload the PDF document you wish to watermark.
  3. 3.
    Select the “Watermark” option from the editing tools.
  4. 4.
    Customize the watermark text or image (adjust font, size, position, and transparency).
  5. 5.
    Apply the watermark and save the document to your cloud storage.

Supported file formats for adding a watermark with pdfFiller

pdfFiller supports a variety of file formats, making it easy to work with different document types. The primary formats you can watermark include:

  1. 1.
    PDF (.pdf)
  2. 2.
    Word (.doc, .docx)
  3. 3.
    Excel (.xls, .xlsx)
  4. 4.
    Images (.jpg, .png)

Can you remove or edit the watermark in a PDF after adding it?

Yes, after adding a watermark in pdfFiller, you can easily remove or edit it if your needs change. Simply reopen the document, navigate to the watermark settings, and make the necessary adjustments or deletions as required.

Is the watermark visible on all PDF readers?

Typically, most modern PDF readers display watermarks correctly. However, visual discrepancies might occur depending on the reader's rendering capabilities and settings. It's advisable to test the PDF on various readers to ensure that the watermark appears as intended.

Does adding a watermark increase the PDF file size?

Adding a watermark to a PDF file may result in a slight increase in file size, but this is generally minimal and won't significantly affect document transfer and storage. The increased size will depend largely on the complexity, design, and resolution of the watermark applied.

Why should you add a watermark to PDFs and other files?

Incorporating watermarks into PDFs provides several advantages, including:

  1. 1.
    Enhanced security through copyright marking.
  2. 2.
    Improved brand visibility and marketing opportunities.
  3. 3.
    Heightened control over document distribution.
  4. 4.
    Professional presentation of materials.

Benefits of using pdfFiller for applying watermarks

pdfFiller takes the hassle out of watermarking with features such as:

  1. 1.
    User-friendly interface: Easy navigation and intuitive tools.
  2. 2.
    Cloud storage integration: Access documents from anywhere, anytime.
  3. 3.
    Comprehensive editing capabilities: Combine watermarking with other PDF functionalities like merging and signing.
  4. 4.
    Collaborative options: Work in real-time with team members or clients.

Common use-cases for watermarking across industries

Watermarking is widely applied in various sectors, including:

  1. 1.
    Legal: Ensuring confidentiality of sensitive documents.
  2. 2.
    Marketing: Strengthening brand identity in promotional materials.
  3. 3.
    Education: Marking drafts and submissions to maintain academic integrity.
  4. 4.
    Real Estate: Protecting proprietary documents while providing listings.

Conclusion

Adding a watermark to your PDF and securing it with pdfFiller is an efficient way to enhance document security and maintain professionalism. This powerful tool provides users with the flexibility and control needed to manage their documents effectively. With easy-to-follow steps and a range of customization options, pdfFiller empowers teams and individuals alike to leverage this essential PDF functionality for all their document communication needs.

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Brand your documents with custom watermarks

Add a final touch after editing

Add stamps, dates, and page or bates numbering to ensure PDFs are secure and professional. Customize watermarks by adjusting size, orientation, color, and transparency.
Screen

Clarify your contracts

Avoid confusion when sending documents for review or signing. Stamp them as "Draft", "Final" or "Copy" to add clarity and indicate versions during contract negotiations.
Screen

Share with confidence

Protect documents with watermarks before sharing. Ensure everyone who has access knows their status and owner.
Screen

Organize at a glance

Add watermarks to see which documents are "Drafts", "For Review", or "Archived", saving you from opening the wrong version.
Screen

How to add a watermark to a PDF?

Illustration

1. Upload

Upload your document to pdfFiller and open it in the editor.
Illustration

2. Apply a watermark

Click Watermark at the top to create and customize a watermark.
Illustration

3. Save and export

Apply your changes and choose how to export your document: download, send to cloud storage, save in your account, share, and more.
Upload your document

Who uses this tool?

Learn how professionals use pdfFiller to brand and protect their documents.
Business Owners
Finance
Real Estate
Construction
Healthcare
Education
Legal
Business Owners

Business Owners

Protect intellectual property and maintain brand consistency across all documents. Add a company name to proposals to enhance branding or apply a custom text watermark to internal documents to indicate their status before sharing.
  • Business plans
  • Pitch decks
  • Internal memos
  • Marketing materials
Finance

Finance

Indicate the status of sensitive financial documents to ensure compliance and prevent misuse. Apply text-based watermarks to differentiate between internal review versions and copies intended for client records.
  • Loan agreements
  • Investment contracts
  • Financial statements
  • Tax returns
Real Estate

Real Estate

Brand marketing materials and protect sensitive client information throughout the transaction process. Add an agency name to property listings for brand recognition or apply a text watermark to agreements to clarify their status during negotiations.
  • Purchase agreements
  • Lease contracts
  • Property disclosure forms
  • Inspection reports
Construction

Construction

Safeguard proprietary information when managing project documentation. Apply a protective watermark to project bids before submission or add a status-indicating watermark to blueprints to prevent premature use.
  • Project bids
  • Blueprints
  • Change orders
  • Subcontractor agreements
Healthcare

Healthcare

Protect patient confidentiality and maintain control over sensitive medical records. Apply a custom watermark to patient documents or medical research before sharing to indicate their current status.
  • Patient records
  • Lab results
  • Medical research
  • Billing statements
Education

Education

Manage administrative workflows and control the distribution of study materials. Add a watermark to student records to clarify their official status or stamp submitted applications for better organization.
  • Permission slips
  • Enrollment forms
  • Scholarship applications
  • Unofficial transcripts

Why trust pdfFiller to watermark your documents?

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All-in-one solution

Handle all your document tasks in one place. Create and edit PDFs, collect data and signatures, collaborate, and manage files securely in the cloud.

Cloud-native accessibility

pdfFiller is entirely cloud-based and cross-platform, allowing you to access your documents anytime and anywhere, without installing any software or storing files on multiple devices.

Your documents—secured

pdfFiller prioritizes data protection and regulatory compliance through security measures like data encryption and signer authentication.

Watermark PDFs with a trusted, all-in-one solution

Try pdfFiller for all your document management needs.
Upload document

pdfFiller scores top ratings on review platforms

Users Most Likely To Recommend - Summer 2025
Grid Leader in Small-Business - Summer 2025
High Performer - Summer 2025
Regional Leader - Summer 2025
Just started using the program today. Easy so far. A little problem with the aligment of fields. It would have been great to use the "tab" key to toggle between fields.
Linda D
Helpful, does what I need to do. The only reason I gave it four stars is because you can't see the comments unless you are online and sometimes I am traveling to places without wifi access so it would be nice to view my downloaded documents and see the comments I attached to them.
Janell
What do you like best?
The ease of signing and saving to different cloud platforms like OneDrive
What do you dislike?
Not much unless the PDFfiller name could be removed from saved documents
What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?
It’s very easy to use for signing things from leases to approvals
User in Accounting
What do you like best?
PDFfiller actually has lots of online tools that can help with many general document editing tasks. We can convert PDF files to lot of different document formats such as DOC files, which are files I use often at work. For document signing, editing and adding fillable fields is not complicated. The toolbar has tools that are neatly laid out and easy to access. There are lots of click-and-drag features that make using PDFfiller comfortable, even with hours of editing. There are also helpful collaboration options that let internal staff communicate about document edits.
What do you dislike?
From an admin perspective, it's been a delight working with PDFfiller, but some people that receive our digital documents can sometimes have trouble accessing the files and knowing how to sign them.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
PDFfiller can be a valuable solution if you need to make lots of edits to PDF files and don't have a much experience with more advanced software like Adobe Acrobat. It seems to be designed for beginner users, but can also work for more expert document editors.
What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?
Even though I know how to use various popular PDF and document editing software, I often turn to PDFfiller to allow for more intuitive editing features and its abilities to work with just about any PDF we load into it. It's a versatile editing solution that lets us quickly format our documents to our specifications.
Dillon Monroe
This is a great programme This is a great programme - but as an individual, probably not quite what I wanted as it is a bit expensive for the odd document.
Margaret Wardhaugh
Love the product Love the product. Works fantastic for me as a property manager. I am using this tool for not only real estate purchase forms but also tenant forms! Especially useful in our mobile workforce where people are not available to sign documents or not even in the same state. Highly recommend PDFfiller!
Gregory Muehl
customer support I had cancelled my subscription but it had not gone through and was charged. I explained this to the customer support team and they helped me very nicely and gave me a refund. It was efficient and very understanding!
Bintou Kane
Very helpful for merging and deleting un needed pages in documents! Only issue is loosing the ability for the fillable spaces I created when I upload.
Brittany C
Just retired and pdfFiller saves the day. Just retired and found several entities I need to work with to get all my personal business done still require faxing and filling out lots of documents. pdfFiller has help me out immensely with the modification of scanned documents and the ability to fax them...
AHappyUser
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Watch PDF watermarking in action

Check out this video tutorial to learn how to protect and personalize your PDFs with custom watermarks.

FAQs

If you can't find what you're looking for, please contact us anytime!
Click “Add directories to list” icon to add all files in a folder to the list together; Click “Watermark→Create→New Text Watermark” to enter into “Add Text Watermark” interface, define name, then click “Macro” button to choose unique data for different PDF copies;
Choose Tools > Protect > Encrypt > Remove Security. Remove Security: The options vary depending on the type of password security attached to the document. If the document has a Document Open password, click OK to remove it from the document.
Click “Add directories to list” icon to add all files in a folder to the list together; Click “Watermark→Create→New Text Watermark” to enter into “Add Text Watermark” interface, define name, then click “Macro” button to choose unique data for different PDF copies;
Step 1: Run PDF Watermark Tool and add PDF files to watermark. Step 2: Enter text to insert as watermark. Step 3: Select a new location to save the PDF file. Step 4: Click on add watermark to PDF file.

Watermark PDFs with a trusted, all-in-one solution

Try pdfFiller for all your document management needs.
Upload document