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How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document

This wikiHow teaches you how to insert a digital signature into a Microsoft Word document by using the DocuSign add-in, as well as by using the built-in Signature Line tool in Microsoft Word on Windows or by converting it to a PDF file and...
Method 1 of 3:

Using DocuSign

  1. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 1How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 1
    Open the document in Microsoft Word. Double-click the Word document you want to add a digital signature to.
  2. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 2How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 2
    Install the DocuSign add-in. DocuSign is a free add-in that will allow you to add your signature to any Word document. To install DocuSign, do the following:
    1. Click the Insert tab.
    2. Click Add-ins in the "Add-ins" section of the toolbar.
      1. On a Mac, you'll highlight Add-ins...
    3. Click Get Add-ins in the drop-down menu.
      1. On a Mac, you'll click Store...
    4. Click the search bar in the upper-left side of the window.
    5. Type in docusign and press ↵ Enter.
    6. Click Add to the right of the "DocuSign for Word" heading.
    7. Click Trust this add-in and/or Got it if prompted.
  3. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 3How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 3
    Click the DocuSign tab. It's at the top of the Word window.
  4. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 4How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 4
    Click Sign Document. You'll find this in the DocuSign toolbar. Doing so prompts the DocuSign menu to open.
  5. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 5How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 5
    Click CREATE ACCOUNT. It's in the DocuSign menu.
  6. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 6How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 6
    Sign up for DocuSign. Enter your first name, last name, and a working email address, then click the yellow SIGN UP button near the bottom of the window.
  7. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 7How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 7
    Verify your email address. To do so:
    1. Open the inbox for the email address that you used to create your account.
      1. If you've ever used DocuSign, you may not receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation email, skip this step.
    2. Open the "DocuSign via DocuSign" email.
    3. Click the yellow ACTIVATE button in the email's body.
    4. Enter and re-enter a password for your account.
    5. Click ACTIVATE.
  8. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 8How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 8
    Log into DocuSign in Microsoft Word. This will prompt the DocuSign document window to open:
    1. Click Sign Document again if the right-hand sidebar is gone.
    2. Click LOG IN
    3. Enter your email address and click CONTINUE
    4. Enter your password and click LOG IN
  9. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 9How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 9
    Click CONTINUE. It's a yellow button at the top of the DocuSign document window.
    1. You may first have to click Sign Document one more time before this window will open.
  10. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 10How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 10
    Click Signature. It's on the left side of the page. If you already have a DocuSign signature on file, this displays a thumbnail image of your signature next to your mouse cursor. If you do not have a signature on file, this displays a yellow image that says "Sign" next to your mouse cursor.
  11. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 11How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 11
    Click the spot into which you want to insert your signature. If you already have a signature on file through DocuSign, this places your signature where you clicked. If you do not have a signature on file, this displays a window you can use to create a new signature.
  12. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 12How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 12
    Click the yellowADOPT AND SIGN button. It's at the bottom of the window. You should see your signature appear in your selected spot.
    1. You can change your signature style by clicking Change Style above the signature box and to the right. Then click the style you want to use.
    2. You can also click the Draw tab and draw your own signature using a mouse or touch screen.
  13. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 13How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 13
    Click FINISH. It's a yellow button near the top of the page. A pop-up window will appear.
  14. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 14How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 14
    Type a recipients name and email address. Use the first two bars at the top of the window to type the name and email address of the person you want to send the signed document to,
    1. You can also add recipients by clicking Add Recipient below the bar. Then type the name and email address of the new recipient.
  15. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 15How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 15
    Type a subject for the document (Optional). Use the line labeled "Subject" to type a subject for the email. For example, you could type the name of the document.
  16. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 16How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 16
    Type a brief message. Use the large text box on the bottom to type a brief message. The message must be less that 250 characters long.
  17. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 17How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 17
    Click Send and Close. It's the yellow button at the bottom of the window. This sends the signed document as an email.
Method 2 of 3:

Adding a Signature on Windows

  1. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 18How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 18
    Make sure that you have a Digital ID. In order to sign a Microsoft Word document, you must have a digital certificate that verifies your identity. These are typically applied to documents which are sent from companies who require a signature.[1]
    1. A Digital ID certificate costs several hundred dollars to obtain for a year, so you most likely won't use this method if you're only trying to sign an informal document.
    2. You can add a signature using the DocuSign add-on if you're attempting to add a signature for personal or informal use only.
  2. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 19How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 19
    Open the document in Microsoft Word. Double-click the Word document you want to add a digital signature to.
    1. If you want to start a new document, open Microsoft Word, then click Blank document on the main Word page.
  3. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 20How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 20
    Click the Insert tab. It's at the top of the window.
    1. If you haven't yet saved the document, first do so by clicking File, clicking Save As, entering a file name, and clicking Save.
  4. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 21How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 21
    Click Text. It's below an icon that resembles a blue "A" under the "Insert" tab. This displays a drop-down menu below the icon.
  5. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 22How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 22
    Click Signature Line. It's in the top-right corner of the drop-down menu below "Text". Clicking it prompts a pop-up window to appear.
    1. On some versions of Microsoft Word, the Signature Line option is an icon that resembles a pencil on a piece of paper. If so, click the icon, then click Microsoft Office Signature Line in the drop-down menu if prompted.
  6. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 23How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 23
    Add the signature details. Type the information you want to appear below the signature line, such as name, title, email address, and any instructions you want to leave for the signer, into the Signature Setup window. You can also do the following:
    1. Check the "Show sign date in signature line" box if you'd like the date of the signature to be inserted automatically.
    2. Check the "Allow the signer to add a comment in the Sign dialog box" box if you'd like to enable comments from whoever signs the document.
  7. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 24How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 24
    Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. This will close the window and, after a brief moment, insert a signature box.
  8. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 25How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 25
    Right-click the signature line, then click Sign. This opens a window you can use to sign on the signature line.
    1. You can also double-click the signature line to do this.
  9. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 26How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 26
    Enter your name. You can either type your name next to the "X" or use your mouse to ink your name.
  10. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 27How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 27
    Click Sign. The "Signature" badge will appear at the bottom of the document next to the word count, indicating that the document has been signed.
    1. If you don't yet have a digital ID from a Microsoft partner, you won't be able to complete this step.
Method 3 of 3:

Adding a Signature on Mac

  1. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 28How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 28
    Open the document in Microsoft Word. Double-click the Word document you want to add a digital signature to.
    1. If you want to start a new document, open Microsoft Word and click File, then click New Document in the drop-down menu.
  2. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 29How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 29
    Click File. It's in the upper-left corner of the screen,
  3. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 30How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 30
    Click Save As. It's in the drop-down menu that appears when you click "File". A small window will open.
  4. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 31How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 31
    Click the drop-down menu next to "Format". This allows you to select a file format to save the Word document as.
  5. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 32How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 32
    Click PDF in the resulting drop-down menu. This will allow you to save your document as a PDF file.
  6. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 33How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 33
    Click Export. It's a blue button at the bottom of the window.
  7. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 34How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 34
    Open Finder and navigate to the PDF file you just saved. The finder has an icon that resembles a blue and white smiley face It's in the dock at the bottom of the
  8. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 35How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 35
    Click the PDF file. This selects the PDF file.
  9. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 36How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 36
    Click File. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  10. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 37How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 37
    Select Open With in the drop-down menu. This displays a sub-menu as a pop-out.
  11. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 38How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 38
    Click Preview in the pop-out menu. This opens the PDF file in the Mac Preview app.
  12. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 39How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 39
    Click the marker icon. It's the icon that resembles a marker tip located to the left of the Search bar.
  13. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 40How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 40
    Click the Signature icon. It located to the right of the "T" icon and looks like part of a cursive signature on a small line.
  14. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 41How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 41
    Click Trackpad or Camera. If you have a laptop with a trackpad or a computer with an external trackpad or drawing tablet, you can click Trackpad. If you don't have a trackpad but you have a webcam, select Camera instead.
    1. If a digital signature is already saved, you may have to click Create Signature first.
  15. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 42How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 42
    Create your signature. You have a couple of different options to add your signature:
    1. Trackpad:
      1. Click Click Here to Begin
      2. Write your signature on the trackpad with a finger.
      3. Press a key on the keyboard.
      4. Click Done
    2. Camera:
      1. Write your signature on white paper.
      2. Hold it up to the camera.
      3. Align the signature over the line.
      4. Click Done
  16. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 43How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 43
    Click the signature you just created. It's in the signature drop-down menu. This will place your signature into the center of the document.
    1. You may first have to click the "Signature" icon again.
  17. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 44How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 44
    Drag your signature to reposition it. Click and hold in the center of your signature and drag it to the area you want to place it in.
    1. You can resize the signature by clicking on any of the corners and dragging them in or away from the center of the signature.
  18. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 45How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 45
    Click File. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  19. How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 46How to Add a Digital Signature in an MS Word Document Picture 46
    Click Save. It's in the drop-down menu. This saves the document with your digital signature.
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