Can a signed PDF be edited?

If you received a PDF digitally signed by others, you can sign it, but can't edit it. While signing a PDF, if the signer chooses to lock the document after signing, the document becomes read-only for everyone, including the signer.

Can a digitally signed PDF be edited?

When you sign a PDF using your digital ID, the PDF becomes read-only for others. If you received a PDF digitally signed by others, you can sign it, but can't edit it. While signing a PDF, if the signer chooses to lock the document after signing, the document becomes read-only for everyone, including the signer.

How do I edit a PDF with a digital signature?

If you are the owner of the digital certificate used to sign the document and the document wasn't locked when signed, you can open the Signatures' pane at the left and right-click on the signature to clear it. After that, if the PDF document is a form, you can clear or edit its fields.

How do I unlock a signed PDF for editing?

1 Answer. If the signature in the form is yours, you can open the Signature pane on the left side, right-click on the signature and choose “Clear Signature”. This way the form will be unlocked. This is only possible if the person who tries to clear the signature has signed and locked the document.

Is it possible to tell if a PDF has been edited?

There is no sure proof way to determine if a generic PDF file is modified. If you go to the document properties (control or command d), if the proper metadata is available, it will list the creation date and time and modified date and time. This can help you determine if a PDF file has been modified since creation.

Can you redact a signed PDF?

You use the Redact tools to remove content. Choose Tools > Redact. On the Edit menu, choose To redact Text & Images. Select the text or image in a PDF, right-click, and select Redact.

How do I add a signature to a PDF digital signature?

See how to sign a PDF Open the PDF document and then from the All tools menu, select Fill & Sign. Create your signature and initials if not already done. From the Sign panel, select your signature, move over to the field where you want to add it, and then click to place the signature.

How do I fix a digital signature in PDF?

5 Steps for Validating Digital Signatures In a PDF Open the digitally signed PDF that you need to validate using Power PDF. Locate the digital signature object within the document. Right click or command-click on the signature object. Select "Verify Signature" from the context menu.

Home
Functionality index

Switch from SmallPDF to pdfFiller for a Modify Electronic Signature Contract Solution For Free

Drop document here to upload

Up to 100 MB for PDF and up to 25 MB for DOC, DOCX, RTF, PPT, PPTX, JPEG, PNG, JFIF, XLS, XLSX or TXT

Based on 12500+ reviews

Last updated on Dec 27, 2025

Document creation is just the beginning

Learn more about security

Create and edit documents with a trusted solution

Try easy-to-use tools for all your document management needs.

Upload your document

pdfFiller scores top ratings on review platforms

What do you like best?
That you allowed me to submit all that I had to the IRS.
What do you dislike?
That initially I could only submit 5 to the IRS.
What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?
Electronic Submittals to the IRS.

JODI LYNN LIANZO

This is a very handy tool This is a very handy tool, the only problem is the price, you could give a discount for students or something, otherwise a very lifesaving thing.

Petar Ivković

interesting...I am a sponsor for a nonprofit addiction recovery program and this would help me lead my sponsees through their step work and writing assignments.

Greg H

Used this program to fill out documents… Used this program to fill out documents while purchasing my house and it was an absolute life saver! I could fill out forms on my breaks at work and being able to use it on my phone was a real asset during covid

Emily MacNeil

Had some difficulty aligning new… Had some difficulty aligning new paragraphs with existing ones. However with a little patience, I managed to do what I needed, great product.

Sergey Miranda

Easy to use once I figured it out. I have been looking for a program like this for a while. It has everything you can possibly need at a very reasonable rate.

Shannon G

Show more Show less

Watch pdfFiller eSignatures in action

Check out a quick video tutorial that shows how to create and place your signature or send a document for signing.

Related features

Create and edit documents with a trusted solution

Try easy-to-use tools for all your document management needs.

Upload your document