Create a fillable PDF form

Place text boxes, tick boxes and drop-downs on any PDF, then download a form people can fill in.

or drop it here · it never leaves your device

Processed in your browser. Your files are never uploaded. Check it yourself

How to make a PDF fillable

A fillable PDF is an ordinary PDF with form fields laid over it: boxes people can type into, tick or choose from. Clubs, schools, landlords and small firms use them for sign-up sheets, consent forms, expense claims and feedback sheets, so the person filling one in never has to print it or hunt for a text tool.

This tool builds the form. You open the PDF, pick a kind of field, and click or drag where it belongs. If the boxes already exist and you just need to fill them in, use Edit & fill instead.

1
Open the PDF that will become the form
Press Choose a PDF or drop the file on the panel. The first page appears large. A bar above it lists the field types, and a toggle called Select and move lets you stop placing and start adjusting.

If the file already has form fields, a note says how many. They show on the page with a dashed grey outline and are left exactly as they are.
2
Place the fields
Choose a type, then click the page to drop a field of a sensible default size, or drag to draw the size yourself. The new field is selected and its options open on the right: name, whether it is required, a hint that shows on hover, a longest answer for text boxes, choices for drop-downs and lists, and a date format for dates.

Drag a field to move it, drag a handle to resize it, or use the arrow keys (Shift with an arrow resizes). Use the page arrows to move through the document; the count under the page shows how many fields are on this page and in all.
3
Fix anything flagged
A field outlined in red has a problem: an empty or duplicate name, a name that clashes with a field already in the file, two radio buttons with the same value, or a drop-down with no choices. The button stays disabled and the text under it says to fix the highlighted fields.
4
Create the form and test it
Press Create fillable PDF. The result card counts the fields by type, confirms the tab order, and shows a preview of the first page that has fields. Download yourfile-fillable.pdf, open it in a reader, click into a box and press Tab. Your original file is never changed.

Create a form features

Eight kinds of field: text, text area, date, check box, radio button, drop-down, list box and signature
Click the page to drop a field, or drag to draw its size
Move and resize fields by dragging, or with the arrow keys
Name each field, mark it required, add a hover hint and set a longest answer
Radio buttons that share a group name work as one question
Date boxes in day/month/year, month/day/year or year-month-day
Fields are put in reading order for the Tab key
Fields already in the file are kept, and your original is never changed

Creating a PDF form without uploading it

Your file stays in this browser tab. The fields are added by code running on your own device and the new PDF is assembled there, so neither the document nor the field names you type are sent anywhere.

Each field is a standard form field of the kind every mainstream PDF reader understands, drawn in its empty state so the boxes show up straight away. The page itself is not altered; the fields sit on top of it.

Fields already in the file stay as they are. They appear with a dashed outline, and new names are chosen so they never clash with them.
Date boxes carry the standard date-format script. A reader that runs form scripts applies the format; one that does not still accepts a typed date as plain text. No other scripts are added.
Signature boxes are empty fields that a signing program fills later. Nothing is signed here.
A signed PDF loses its signature when it is changed, so you are warned first.

How to prove your file never left your device: a two-minute Network-tab and offline test you can run on this tool.

Worked example

A sign-up sheet for a running club

The club secretary has a one-page sheet with the club name and the usual headings. She opens it here and places a text box beside “Full name” and another beside “Email”, a date box for the date of birth, three radio buttons for the 5 km, 10 km and half marathon options, a check box beside “I accept the club rules” and a signature box at the bottom.

That is seven boxes on the page, but the three radio buttons share one group name, so the form contains six fields. The Tab key walks down the page in reading order. She downloads sign-up-fillable.pdf and emails it round; members fill it in on their own computers and send it back.

Good to know before you build a form

Give fields short, unique names such as full_name or email. They are what screen readers and any later data export use.
Radio buttons only work as a set. Place one for every option and keep the group name the same on each, so ticking one clears the others.
Open the finished form in the reader your recipients are likely to use and press Tab to walk through it before you send it out.
To keep a filled-in copy from being edited again, run it through Flatten PDF.

Which field for which question

Field	Use it for	Good to know
Text	A name, an email, a reference number	One line. You can set a longest answer. The text size adjusts to the box.
Text area	Comments, an address, a description	Several lines that wrap inside the box. Draw it tall enough for the longest answer you expect.
Date	A date of birth, a start date	A text box with a date format: day/month/year, month/day/year or year-month-day.
Check box	An agreement or a yes/no tick	Each one stands alone.
Radio button	Pick exactly one from a short list	Buttons sharing a group name are one question. Each has its own value.
Drop-down	One choice from a longer list	Opens when clicked, so it takes little room. One choice per line in the options box.
List box	A short list that stays open	Draw it tall enough to show the choices.
Signature	Somewhere to sign later	An empty field a signing program fills. Nothing is signed here.

Rule of thumb: radio buttons for up to about five options, a drop-down beyond that, and a text box when the answers cannot be predicted.

Field names: short, unique and meaningful

Every field has a name, and the name is how the field is identified when data is read out of a filled form, when a script fills it, and by assistive technology. New fields are named for you (Text1, Date1, Check1 and so on, choosing the first free number), and it is worth renaming them to something like full_name or start_date.

Names must be unique. Two fields with the same name would show the same value in both, because the form treats them as one field. The tool compares names without regard to capitals and flags clashes, including clashes with fields already in the file.
No full stops. A full stop in a PDF field name means “inside a group”, which would create a hidden hierarchy.
Radio buttons share a group name instead. The group is the field; each button has a value, such as 5k, 10k, half.

The optional hover hint doubles as a description for readers that expose it to assistive technology, so write it as a short instruction: “Your full name as on your passport”.

Sizes, alignment and rotated pages

Default sizes are set in points (1 point is 1/72 of an inch, about 0.35 mm) so a field comes out the same size on every page: a text box is 170 × 22 points (about 60 × 8 mm), a date box 110 × 22, a check box or radio button 16 × 16 (about 5.6 mm), a drop-down 170 × 22, a list box 170 × 70, a text area 240 × 80 and a signature box 190 × 50 (about 67 × 18 mm). Drag to draw any other size.

Each field draws a thin grey outline, so draw it over the printed line or box it belongs to rather than beside it. Placement works on the page as it is displayed. We tested pages turned by 90, 180 and 270 degrees and the field lands where you drew it.

Fields can be nudged by keyboard: arrow keys move, Shift with arrows resizes, Delete removes. Pointer drags and keyboard changes do the same job.

Tab order, and how to test the finished form

The Tab key should walk through a form in the order a person would fill it in. The tool sets each page that has new fields to reading order: left to right along a row, then down to the next row. For most forms that is what you want. If your layout has two columns of questions, reading order will jump across them, and you may prefer to place the fields in the order you want them and keep the layout single-column.

Before you send the form out, open it in the reader your recipients will use. Click the first box, type, press Tab and keep going. Tick a check box, choose a drop-down option and try a date. Then try it on a phone, because many people will open it there. If a reader is unable to show a field, check that it opens in a second reader too.

Date boxes carry one small script

A PDF date box is a text box with a formatting rule attached, written in the standard form-script language readers understand. When you leave the box, the reader rewrites what you typed into the chosen format. That is the only script this tool adds to the file, and the format is day/month/year unless you choose another, which suits readers in the UK and most of Europe.

A reader that does not run form scripts still lets people type a date, but it will not tidy it. Running Remove metadata on the finished form, which removes scripts, may strip the date formatting as well.

What this tool does not do

It does not detect where fields should go. You place each one.
It cannot edit a field after you have built the form. Reopening the new file shows its fields with a dashed outline and keeps them. To change one, rebuild from your original, or use a full PDF editor.
No calculations or validation rules beyond the date format and the “required” flag.
Buttons and image fields are not offered.
XFA forms (an older form format) are flagged with a warning because many readers ignore them.
A digital signature on the original will not survive, because the file is rewritten. You are warned first.
Collecting the answers is up to you: people save their filled copy or print it and send it back. This site stores nothing.

Other ways to make a fillable PDF

Where	How	Catch
Adobe Acrobat Pro	Prepare a Form places fields and can detect them automatically.	Paid edition.
LibreOffice Writer	Add form controls in the document and tick the form option when exporting to PDF.	You need the source document and some practice with its form toolbar.
Online form builders	Many offer a PDF form maker.	Most upload the document to their servers.
An online survey tool	Gathers answers in a web page rather than a PDF.	Not a PDF: fine if people only need to answer, not keep a form.

This tool works on any PDF you already have, including one exported from a design program or scanned, with nothing to install and the file kept on your device. To fill in a form afterwards, use Edit & fill; to fix a filled form so it cannot be changed, use Flatten PDF.

Create a form: troubleshooting

“Choose a field type, then click or drag on the page to place it.”: No field has been placed yet. Pick a type above the page, then click the page.
A field is outlined in red: Select it and read the message in the panel: usually an empty or duplicate name, a clash with a field already in the file, two radio buttons with the same value, or a drop-down with no choices.
“The file already has a field with this name.”: Pick a different name. Names from fields already in the file are reserved, whatever the capitals.
“A name can’t contain a full stop.”: Use an underscore or a dash instead: home_phone.
I can’t click a field because the page keeps creating new ones: A field type is still active. Press “Select and move” first, then click the field.
Radio buttons all tick at once: They have different group names. Select each and give them the same group, with a different value for each button.
A banner says the file has a digital signature: Adding fields makes the signature invalid. Keep the signed original and use the new file only where an unsigned copy is fine.
“This PDF needs a password”: Enter the password at the prompt. The new form is saved without one; add one again with Protect PDF if needed.
The preview does not show my fields: The preview is a quick picture. Open the downloaded file in a reader to see the fields as recipients will.

Glossary

AcroForm: The standard form system inside PDF: a list of fields drawn over the page.
Field: One question in a form, with a name and a value. Radio buttons in a group make one field.
Widget: The visible box of a field on a page. One field can have several widgets, as radio buttons do.
Radio group: A set of radio buttons sharing a name, of which only one can be ticked.
Tab order: The order in which the Tab key moves through the fields.
Required field: A field marked so that readers can flag it when it is left empty.
Signature field: An empty box reserved for a digital signature, added later by a signing program.
Flatten: Turning form fields and their values into plain page content so they can no longer be changed.

Create a fillable PDF: frequently asked questions

What kinds of field can I add?

Text, text area, date, check box, radio button, drop-down, list box and signature. Each is a standard form field that works in mainstream PDF readers.

Can I add fields to a PDF that already has some?

Yes. The existing fields are kept as they are, shown with a dashed outline, and new fields get names that do not clash with them.

Is my file uploaded?

No. The fields are added in your browser and the new PDF is made on your device. You can check it yourself.

Who can fill in the finished form?

Anyone with a PDF reader that supports forms, including the major web browsers and desktop readers. They type into the boxes, then save or print the result.

How is this different from Edit & fill?

Edit & fill types into boxes that already exist and adds text or shapes to a flat page. This tool creates the boxes.

How do radio buttons work?

Place one button for each option and give them all the same group name, with a different value on each. Ticking one clears the others.

Can I make a field required?

Yes. Select the field and tick Required. Readers that support it will flag the field when it is left empty.

Does it work on scanned documents?

Yes. A scan is a picture of a page, and fields can be placed over it. The text in the picture will not be searchable unless you run OCR PDF first.

What happens to a digital signature?

Adding fields rewrites the file, so a signature on the original stops validating. A banner warns you first.

How do I collect the answers?

This tool only builds the form. People fill it in and send you the saved or printed copy. This site never sees the answers.

Page updated 28 October 2026 · By the PDFMagpie team