Signora user guide

Signora lets you sign PDF documents in your browser and send them to other people to sign. This guide walks you through everything, step by step. You don't need any technical knowledge.

Prefer reading offline? Download this guide as a PDF.

1. Getting started

Open app.signora-app.com in any modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox) on a computer, tablet or phone. There's nothing to install.

• No account is needed to sign and download PDFs.
• Signora works with PDF files. Have a Word or Google Docs file? Save it as a PDF first: in Word, File → Save As → PDF; in Google Docs, File → Download → PDF. A photo of a paper document? Scan it to PDF with your phone (Notes on iPhone, Google Drive on Android).
• A free account (just your email, no password) is needed to send documents by link, send to many people, or create a public signing link.

2. Sign a PDF yourself

1. Drag your PDF onto the start page, or click Choose PDF. It opens in the editor.
2. On the left, under Fields, click Signature, then click the place on the page where you want to sign. (On a phone, the fields are at the bottom of the screen.)
3. The first time, Signora asks you to create your signature (see section 3).
4. Add anything else the document needs: Initials, Name, Date (today's date is filled in for you), Text or Checkbox.
5. Drag a field to move it; drag its corner to resize it. To remove a field, select it and click the bin, or press Delete.
6. Click Download signed PDF. Done!

3. Your signatures

You can create a signature in three ways:

• Draw it with your mouse, trackpad or finger.
• Type your name and pick a handwriting style.
• Upload a photo of your signature on white paper. Signora removes the background.

Signatures and initials you create are saved in this browser. Manage them under Signatures in the top menu, where you can also set Your name, which is filled into Name fields for you.

4. Prepare a document for others

When other people also need to sign, tell Signora who they are and where they sign.

1. In the editor, click Prepare for others (later this button is called Signers). You're always first, as Me. Rename the second signer (for example Tenant) and click Add signer for more. The order of the list is the signing order.
2. Close the panel. Above the fields, Place fields for shows whose fields you're placing. Choose a signer, then place their fields. Each signer has their own colour.
3. Fill in and sign your own fields now. Leave the other signers' fields empty: they fill them in.
4. Placed a field for the wrong person? Select it and change Signer in the properties panel.

5. Send it to be signed

Click Send. Signora shows every way to send, with a short explanation:

Send by link

1. Enter each signer's name and, optionally, their email.
2. Choose how signers get their links:
   • I send the links myself (most private). Signora never has the key to your document. After you sign, each link has an Email button that opens your own email app with the message ready, and Copy for WhatsApp or SMS.
   • Signora emails the links for me. Invitations and reminders go out automatically. To do that, our server keeps the document's key until signing ends.
3. Check the signer (recommended): with their email given, Email them a code before they sign is on, so a forwarded link alone isn't enough. Tick Require an access code for sensitive documents: Signora suggests a code, and after you sign each link shows it with Copy code and WhatsApp. Add their WhatsApp number to open the chat directly (it stays on your device). Send the code a different way than the link, for example the link by email and the code on WhatsApp.
4. Choose when links expire and how long Signora keeps the finished PDF (1, 7 or 30 days).
5. Click Continue to sign your part, sign, and click Finish.
6. Send the first person their link (unless Signora emails it). The others can open theirs when it's their turn.

Send to many people

Your document needs exactly one other signer (for example Employee). Sign your part, choose Send to many people, then paste or upload a list with one person per line: name,email (up to 100; Excel can save this as CSV), plus optional phone and access_code columns. Each person gets their own copy, and by default an emailed code to enter before signing; tick Give each person an access code to add one (from your CSV, or made for you). The links CSV you download lists each person's link and access code, and every row has a WhatsApp button. Choose whether you send the links yourself (download them as a CSV) or Signora emails them.

Public signing link

Also for documents with one other signer. Signora gives you one link to share anywhere. Everyone who opens it enters their name, signs their own copy, and you see each one under Sent.

Send as a file (offline)

Signora downloads a .signora file. Send it to the next signer (email attachment, WhatsApp). They open Signora, click Open a .signora file, sign, and pass on the new file. The last signer gets the final PDF.

6. Signing what someone sent you

1. Open the link you received. No account or app is needed.
2. If the sender asked for checks, Signora first asks you to confirm it's you: click Email me a code and type the code from the email, and/or type the access code the sender gave you (for example on WhatsApp).
3. Signora shows the document and the part you sign. Check your name, then click Continue.
4. Click Start: Signora takes you to each field you need to fill. Click Next to move on.
5. When everything is filled, click Finish.

If it isn't your turn yet, the link says who signs first. Open it again later. If you are the last signer, the final PDF downloads for you.

7. Track and finish

Signed in, click Sent in the top menu. You see every document you sent by link: who has signed, who's next, and when the links expire. Open one for details, the links again, Cancel or Delete.

When everyone has signed, everyone can download the final PDF. It contains every signature, a certificate page and a digital seal. Signora deletes its encrypted copy after the number of days you chose, and saves your own copy into your Library.

8. Library and templates

• Library lists the documents on this device: drafts, documents waiting for others, and completed ones. Open, download or delete them here.
• Templates: in the editor, click Save as template to reuse a document's fields (for example a standard lease). Start a new document from it with Use a template on the start page.

9. Check a signed PDF

Click Verify in the top menu and drop a PDF signed with Signora. It tells you whether the PDF is intact since it was sealed, shows the signers and the history, and when it was timestamped. If even one byte was changed after sealing, it says so. Adobe Reader also shows the seal in its signature panel.

10. Account and sign-in

• Click Sign in, enter your email, and click Email me a sign-in link. Click Sign in in the email, or type the 6-digit code from it. There's no password.
• You stay signed in on that device as long as you keep using Signora (you're signed out after 90 days without use, or when you click Sign out).
• Under Account you can set your display name. Developers find API keys and webhooks via For developers at the bottom.

11. Privacy and security

• Documents you only sign and download never leave your device.
• Documents sent by link are encrypted in your browser (AES-256). The key is in the link after the #, which browsers never send to servers.
• Titles and signers' names are stored only encrypted, unless you choose to show the title in emails.
• Signora's server knows signers' email addresses, the signing order and times, as needed to route documents and send emails.
• With Signora emails the links for me, the server holds that document's key until signing ends. The app tells you this when you choose it.
• No ads, no analytics, no tracking.

12. Limitations

• Your library and signatures live in this browser. Clearing browser data deletes them, and they don't sync to other devices. Download what matters.
• Signers sign one after another; many people signing the same document at the same time isn't available yet.
• No ID-document checks or "qualified" electronic signatures (signers can be asked for an emailed code and an access code).
• English only for now; preparing documents is easiest on a larger screen.

13. Troubleshooting

I didn't get the sign-in email.

Check spam. Wait a minute and click Send a new email. Make sure the address is spelled correctly.

"This link is incomplete".

The part after # is missing. Copy the whole link from the message you received.

"It's not your turn yet".

Someone signs before you. Open the link again after they've signed.

"Fields changed" when opening a file or link.

The document was altered after an earlier signer signed it. Ask the sender to send it again.

My documents disappeared.

The browser's data was cleared, or you're on another browser or device. Completed documents you sent by link come back when you sign in.

Still stuck? Write to support@signora-app.com.