Do I need to print the document first?

No. Sign electronically with a browser-based tool, then email the signed PDF back as an attachment. Printing and scanning adds steps that don't change the legal validity.

Is an electronically signed document legally valid?

Yes. In most jurisdictions, electronic signatures carry the same legal weight as handwritten ones under frameworks like the US ESIGN Act, UETA, and the EU eIDAS Regulation.

What if the sender insists on a wet signature?

Try the electronic route first. Most people accept it once they receive the signed file. If they still insist, you can fall back to print-sign-scan, but that's rarely actually required.

Can I sign on my phone and send it back?

Yes. Download the attachment from your email, open Signegy in your phone's browser, sign it, download the signed copy, and reply to the email with it attached.

How to Sign a Document and Send It Back: Free

To sign a document and send it back: download the PDF from your email, open it in a free signing tool like Signegy, add your signature, download the signed version, and reply to the email with the signed PDF attached. The whole process takes under two minutes, and there’s no printing needed.

The Complete Process, Step by Step

Here’s the full path from “email arrived” to “signed document returned.”

Download the attachment. Open the email and save the PDF to your device. On desktop it lands in your Downloads folder by default. On iPhone, tap the attachment, then tap the Share icon and save to Files. On Android, tapping the attachment usually downloads it to your Downloads folder automatically.
Open Signegy. Go to signegy.com in any browser: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge. No account to create, no app to install.
Upload the PDF. Drag the file into the tool, or click to browse and select it from wherever you saved it.
Add your signature. Pick your preferred method: draw with your mouse, trackpad, or finger; type your name and pick a handwriting style; or upload an image of your existing signature. All three produce a signature you can place on the document.
Position and resize. Click to place your signature, then drag it to the correct line and use the resize handle to scale it so it fits naturally. If the document has multiple pages that need signing, navigate to each page and add your signature there as well.
Download the signed PDF. Click the download button. The signed version saves to your device as a new file. Your original is untouched.
Reply to the email. Go back to the original email, hit Reply, and attach the signed PDF. If the sender needs a specific file name, rename the file before attaching. Something like Contract_Signed_YourName_2026-04-10.pdf is much easier for the recipient to work with than download(1).pdf.

That’s the full loop. The sender gets a properly signed file back in their inbox, and you haven’t touched a printer.

What If the Document Isn’t a PDF?

Most documents that arrive by email come as PDFs, but not all of them. Here’s how to handle the most common alternatives.

For a Word document (.docx), the cleanest approach is to ask the sender for a PDF version. Most people have one ready, or can export one in seconds. Alternatively, on Windows or macOS, open the document and use File, Print, “Save as PDF” (or “Microsoft Print to PDF” on Windows). That converts it to a PDF you can then sign normally.

For an image or photo of a document, say someone shared a photo of a form via WhatsApp or email, save the image first. On both iPhone and Android, you can use the “Print” option in the share sheet to get a “Save as PDF” output. Once you have a PDF, the signing steps above apply as usual.

For a Google Doc link, you have two options. If you have edit access, open the document and go to File, Download, PDF Document (.pdf), and you’ll have a local PDF to work with. If you only have view access, ask the sender to export and resend as an attachment.

In all cases, the goal is the same: get a PDF onto your device so you can work with it locally.

What If They Sent a DocuSign or HelloSign Link?

This distinction matters, and it’s worth being clear about it.

If you received a signing link from DocuSign, HelloSign (Dropbox Sign), Adobe Sign, or a similar platform, use that platform’s interface to sign. Those links are part of a tracked workflow: the sender’s system records when you opened the link, when you signed, and stores the completed document automatically. Signing somewhere else and sending back a PDF will break that workflow and may leave the sender without the tracked record they expected.

If you received a plain PDF attached to an email, you can use any tool you like to sign it, including Signegy. The sender doesn’t know or care which tool produced the signature; they just want the signed file in their inbox. PDF attachments are tool-agnostic.

The short version: signing links are platform-specific. PDF attachments aren’t. When in doubt, look at what was sent. A link that takes you to a third-party website means you’re in a platform workflow. An email with a .pdf file attached means you can sign it however you want.

Tips for Returning Signed Documents

A few things that save headaches on both sides of the exchange.

Name the file clearly. Rename it before attaching. Something like Lease_Signed_JaneSmith.pdf beats the default filename. Senders deal with a lot of documents, and a clear name makes filing much easier on their end.

Reply in the original thread. Don’t start a new email. Replying keeps the signed document connected to the conversation where the request came from, so the sender can find the original context without digging.

Check every page before downloading. If the document has multiple signature lines or a date that needs completing, go through every page before you hit download. Reworking the document because you missed a field on page 3 is a minor annoyance, but sending back an incomplete document causes delays for everyone.

Save copies for yourself. Keep both the original unsigned PDF and your signed version. You may need the signed version as proof in the future, and having the unsigned original gives you a clean reference if any question about the document’s contents comes up later.

What If You Need to Sign Multiple Pages?

Longer contracts and agreements often require a signature on the final page and a signature at the bottom of every page. Signegy handles multi-page documents. You can navigate through all pages and place a signature on any page where one is needed.

The workflow is the same as above, just repeated across pages. Scroll or use the page navigator to move through the document, and add your signature to each page that requires it. When you’re ready to download, the signed version includes all the placements you made across every page.

Signing on Your Phone

Signing on iPhone or Android follows the same steps, just on a smaller screen. Download the email attachment to your Files app (iPhone) or Downloads folder (Android), open Signegy in your phone’s browser, upload the file, and draw your signature with your finger. The touch interface works well for signature drawing; most people find a finger signature on a phone screen looks fairly natural.

The only real difference from desktop is positioning. On a small screen, use two fingers to zoom in on the signature line before placing your signature. That gives you better control over where it lands and how large it appears.

Once you’ve downloaded the signed PDF, go back to your email app and reply with it attached. On iPhone, tap the attachment icon in the compose window, then navigate to Files, Downloads to find it. On Android, tap the paperclip icon and browse to Downloads.

Why Electronic Signatures Are Accepted

If this is your first time signing and returning a document electronically, you might have a passing worry about whether it’ll actually be accepted. It will be, in almost all cases.

The legal framework has been settled for over two decades. In the United States, the ESIGN Act (2000) and UETA established that electronic signatures have the same legal validity as handwritten ones. The European Union’s eIDAS Regulation covers the same ground for EU member states, and most other countries have equivalent legislation in place.

When someone sends you a document asking for your signature, they want evidence of your agreement, not a specific ink type or paper format. A signed PDF with your name on the appropriate line satisfies that requirement. The legal basis for electronic signatures isn’t a workaround; it’s exactly what those laws were designed to enable.

The narrow exceptions (certain wills, a limited category of court filings, some real estate documents in specific jurisdictions) are almost always flagged explicitly in the document or the instructions accompanying it. If the document requires a wet signature, it’ll typically say so.

Ready to get this done? Sign your document now. It opens in this tab, works on any device, and requires nothing but the file itself.