Certify a PDF

When you certify a PDF, you indicate that you approve of its contents. You also specify the types of changes that are permitted for the document to remain certified. For example, suppose that a government agency creates a form with signature fields. When the form is complete, the agency certifies the document, allowing users to change only form fields and sign the document. Users can fill in the form and sign the document, but if they remove pages or add comments, the document doesn’t retain its certified status.

You can apply a certifying signature only if the PDF doesn’t contain any other signatures. Certifying signatures can be visible or invisible, and are indicated by the blue ribbon icon  in the Signatures panel (and if visibly signed, in the signature field). A digital ID is required to add digital signatures (see About digital signatures.)

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  1. Change the default signing method, if needed.
  2. Click the Sign button  in the Tasks toolbar and choose one of the following options:

    • Certify With Visible Signature.

    • Certify Without Visible Signature. If you choose this option, your signature appears only in the Signatures panel.

      Note: If you enabled View Documents In Preview Document Mode When Signing in the Security Preferences, click Sign Document in the document message bar.
  3. Click OK in the Save As Certified Document dialog box.
  4. If you’re adding a visible signature, draw the signature field on the page. Follow the on-screen instructions to select a digital ID, if prompted.
    Specify a default ID to avoid being prompted each time you sign a PDF.
  5. In the Certify Document dialog box, specify the permitted changes, type your password, and then click Sign.
  6. Save the PDF using a different filename than the original file, and then close the document without making additional changes.
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