How to fill out a PDF form without printing it
Application forms, enrolment forms, request slips and reimbursement forms often arrive as PDFs with a note to "fill out and return". Printing, writing by hand and scanning it back works, but it is slow and the result is often hard to read. Most forms can be completed on screen instead. The right way depends on one thing: whether the form was made fillable.
Fillable or not?
A fillable form has real fields built into the PDF. Open it and click a blank: if a text cursor appears inside the box, or the boxes are highlighted when the form opens, the fields are there. Checkboxes toggle when clicked, and some forms have drop-down lists.
A form that is not fillable is only a picture of boxes and lines — often a scan of a printed form, or a document exported without fields. Clicking a blank does nothing. You can still complete it on screen, but you have to place your answers on the page yourself.
Filling a fillable form
Fillable forms can be completed in almost any PDF viewer, including the one built into Chrome, Edge and Firefox, and the free PDF apps on phones. Click each field, type, and use Tab to move to the next one.
The step people miss is saving. Use the viewer's own Save or Download command, then close the file and open the saved copy to confirm your answers are still there. Some viewers only keep the entries for as long as the tab is open, and a form returned empty is a common reason applications are sent back.
Filling a form that is not fillable
Open the form in a PDF editor and add a text box over each blank, a check mark over each box, and your signature where it is needed. Keep the text at a size close to the form's own printing, align it on the line rather than floating above it, and zoom out at the end to check the page reads naturally.
If the form is a scan, the lines may be slightly crooked. Place each answer against its own line instead of copying one text box down the page, and keep an eye on long answers so they do not run into the next field.
Before you send it: flatten and check
A filled form can still be edited by whoever receives it, and some viewers display form fields differently or hide them. Flattening turns the entries into a permanent part of the page, so what the recipient sees is exactly what you filled in. Keep an unflattened copy for yourself in case you need to change an answer later.
Finally, open the file you are about to send on a different device if you can — a phone is enough — and read every page. Check names, dates and ID numbers, and make sure nothing is cut off at the edge of a box.