Sign a Contract Online: A 6-Point Checklist Before You Send It Back
Point one: read the whole document, including the schedules and annexes at the end. It sounds obvious, yet the clauses that cause disputes — automatic renewal, termination notice periods, liability caps, jurisdiction — are usually buried on the last pages. Use the annotate tool to highlight anything you want to question or renegotiate before you sign, and send those comments back first. A signature applied to a document you have not fully read is still binding; courts show little sympathy for the argument that you did not scroll far enough.
Point two: complete every blank field, and do it properly. Many contracts arrive with fillable areas for names, company numbers, and addresses. PdfWill's form filler automatically detects these fields so you can tab through them instead of hunting with your cursor. Fields you deliberately leave empty are an invitation for someone else to complete them later, so the traditional advice stands: strike through blanks that do not apply, or write 'N/A'. A contract with holes in it is an unfinished contract.
Point three and four: signature and date. With PdfWill's sign tool you can draw a signature with your mouse or trackpad, type your name in a script font, or upload an image of your handwritten signature — all three are widely accepted for ordinary commercial agreements, though certain documents such as deeds or notarized instruments still require wet ink in many jurisdictions, so check first. Place the date next to your signature and anywhere else the contract requires it; an undated signature creates avoidable ambiguity about when obligations begin.
Point five: protect the file before sending it back. A signed contract contains names, addresses, financial terms, and an image of your signature — everything needed to impersonate you on another document. Run the signed PDF through protect to apply AES encryption, then share the password through a different channel from the file itself, such as a phone message when the contract went by email. Because PdfWill signs and encrypts entirely in your browser with zero uploads, the unencrypted signed contract never sits on a third-party server.
Point six: keep your own complete copy, and note one honest limitation. Save the final signed, dated version in at least two places, ideally with the email thread that shows the negotiation history. PdfWill does not orchestrate multi-party signing — there is no workflow that routes the document to the counterparty and tracks their signature. In practice each side signs its own copy and returns it, or the second party adds their signature to the file you send. For most two-party agreements that is exactly how it has always worked on paper.