How to fill out a PDF form

To fill out a PDF form with real fields, open it in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Preview or Adobe Acrobat Reader, click a field and type, then save. The viewer at pdfviewer.work shows form fields but does not edit them as fields; instead you type on top with the Text tool, which also works on forms that have no fields at all.

First, find out what kind of form you have

Three things get called a PDF form. A fillable form (AcroForm) has real fields: click one and a cursor appears. A flat form is a printed form saved as PDF: lines and boxes, but nothing to click. An XFA form is an older Adobe-only format that shows a "Please wait..." page in anything but Acrobat. The PDF forms explainer covers how to tell them apart.

The viewer on this site displays AcroForm fields but cannot edit them as fields. That limit is stated up front because it decides which route below you take: fillable forms are easiest in a tool that supports fields; flat forms are easiest with a text tool laid on top.

Fill a fillable PDF form with free tools

Save a copy after filling, then reopen it to confirm the values stuck. Browser viewers in particular can look filled on screen while the saved file is blank if you used the wrong save button.

Fill any PDF form in the browser viewer by typing on top

1. Open the form at pdfviewer.work by dropping the file or clicking Open a PDF.
2. Click Text, click on a line or box, and type. Repeat for every field. The add text to PDF page has more on the Text tool.
3. For checkboxes, use Draw to put an X in the box, or type an X with the Text tool.
4. Sign with Signature: draw it, then click where it goes. See sign a PDF without printing.
5. Click Download. The text is part of the page now, not field data.

This works on flat forms, scanned forms and fillable forms alike, and the file never leaves your browser. The trade-off: a system that reads the form field by field (some HR and tax portals) will see empty fields. For those, use a field-aware tool from the table above.

Sending the filled form back

Before you attach it, reopen the saved copy in a different viewer and read every field. Fillable forms have two common failure modes: the browser saved the empty original while the filled version lived only in the tab, or a field accepted text on screen but the values were flattened on save, so the recipient sees them but cannot change them. The second is usually what you want; the first is a resend.

If the recipient wants a printed and signed form, print from the viewer with the Print button and sign on paper, or sign in the viewer with the Signature tool and send the PDF. If they want a flat copy with no live fields, filling with the Text tool does that by construction, since the text becomes part of the page. For a form that a system reads automatically, keep the fields live: fill in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Acrobat Reader and do not pass it through a flattening step.

Troubleshooting: the form will not let me type

• "Please wait... If this message is not eventually replaced..." That is an XFA form. Open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader; browsers and most other viewers cannot render it.
• Clicking a field does nothing in Chrome. The form is flat. Type on top with a text tool.
• The fields are grayed out. The author locked the form with permissions. Run it through Remove Restrictions at pdfviewer.work, then open the copy in a field-aware tool.
• My filled values disappeared. You reopened the original instead of the saved copy, or the browser saved the blank file. Fill again and use the viewer's download button, not the browser's Save page as.
• The form asks for a password to open. Nothing can fill it until the password is removed.

Frequently asked questions