Digital signatures are becoming more and more common. Not only does it help you save paper (and trees!), it’s also more convenient. You don’t need to print, scan, sign, then re-scan and send back a document. You can open a document, digitally sign it, and continue on with your day, getting the ball rolling faster on important things.

In addition to using digital signature software on a desktop or laptop computer, did you know you can do this right from one of the best iPhones using a built-in feature? It’s actually easy to call up any document within an app that supports digital markup and use that handy tool to sign it.

  1. First, you need to open the document from a compatible app. This includes ones like Mail so for the sake of this tutorial, we’ll use Mail.
  2. Open the email that contains the document you want to sign or compose a new one.
  3. If you do the latter, press and hold anywhere in the body of the email until a menu pops up. (If the document you want is already in an open e-mail or file, skip to step 7.)
  4. Tap the right-facing arrow until you get to Insert Photo or Video or Attach File.
  5. Select the form you want to sign from your library.
  6. Tap anywhere in the email again to see the document.
  7. Tap the right-facing arrow until you see Markup and select.
  8. Tap the + sign at the bottom.
  9. Select Signature.
  10. Sign your name on the line provided using your finger (or a compatible stylus). You can select Clear at the bottom and try again if you don’t like how it looks.
  11. Tap Done at the top.
  12. The signature will appear in the email (or document) with blue guides around it. Move it to where you want it to appear (i.e. on the signature line) and adjust the size as needed.
  13. Tap the screen once the signature is in the right place and of the right size and tap Done
  14. The document is now in your email and digitally signed.

If you have a document, like a PDF, saved to your phone or in an email, you can simply open it and follow the instructions above. Once you save a signature in an iPhone using Markup, including the new iPhone 14, it'll be there for you any time you need it. You can select Add or Remove if you want to remove a signature you have previously saved or save a second one. That might be a spouse or business partner signing something as a witness, for example.

Once you start signing documents using the digital signature, you’ll never look back. Of course, there are still specific types of documents, like legal ones, that require a handwritten signature. But more and more, digital signatures are becoming acceptable. If you have several signed photo files on your phone you need to send at once, check out our guide on how to create a zip file for photos on an iPhone next.

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