Open the PDF in PDFluent Editor, click "Fill & sign" in the left rail, press "Choose certificate" and pick your .p12 or .pfx file. Type the "Certificate password", add a reason if you like, and press "Sign and save a copy". This is for anyone who already has a certificate file from an employer, an IT department or an ID provider and needs a signed PDF today. The editor is free for everyone, including commercial use, and you do not need an account.
Someone needs the PDF back with your digital signature on it. You already have a certificate: a .p12 or .pfx file that came from your company, your IT department or an ID provider, plus the password that goes with it. What you need now is a program that uses it.
This guide shows how to sign a PDF with that certificate in PDFluent Editor 1.1, using the real labels from the app. You choose the certificate, enter its password, sign, and then check the signature on the copy the editor saves. Your original file stays as it was.
PDFluent Editor is free for everyone, including at work. There is no account to create. Version 1.1 is available for macOS and Windows.
A certificate-based signature ties the PDF to you through a file only you should have. The .p12 or .pfx file holds your certificate and the private key that goes with it. The password protects that key. Without both, nothing can be signed.
| You bring | The editor provides |
|---|---|
| A certificate file ending in .p12 or .pfx | A "Choose certificate" button that loads it |
| The password for that file | A "Certificate password" field |
| The PDF you need to sign | "Sign and save a copy", which writes a signed copy next to your original |
| Optionally, a reason for signing | A "Reason (optional)" field that goes into the signature |
| Nothing else | "Check signatures", to read back the signature on the saved copy |
PDFluent Editor is free for everyone, including commercial and business use. No account is needed. Download it, open the PDF and sign it with your certificate.
The steps use PDFluent Editor 1.1. Keep your certificate file somewhere you can find it, and have the password ready.
Open the file in PDFluent Editor and click "Fill & sign" in the left rail. The panel opens with the line "Sign with a certificate of your own, and check the signatures a document already carries. Both happen on this device." Below it is the section "Sign with a certificate".
Under "Certificate (.p12 or .pfx)" the panel says "No certificate chosen". Press "Choose certificate" and pick your .p12 or .pfx file.
Type the password of the certificate file into "Certificate password". If you want to say why you sign, fill in "Reason (optional)". Its placeholder reads "Why you are signing". You can leave it empty.
Press "Sign and save a copy". The button shows "Signing…" while it works. When it is done, the panel says "Signed copy saved as", followed by the file name of the new copy. The PDF you opened is not changed. If you pressed the button without a certificate or a password, the panel says "Choose a certificate and enter its password first."
Open the signed copy in PDFluent Editor, click "Fill & sign" and press "Check signatures" in the "Signatures" section. The signature appears with its status, the "Signer" and the "Reason" if you gave one.
PDFluent Editor is free for everyone, including commercial use, and your documents stay on your computer.
Before you send the file, look at the copy, not the original.
If the status reads "Invalid", do not send that copy. Go back to the original and sign it again.
If something goes wrong while signing, the panel shows "Signing failed:" with the reason after it. A wrong password is one cause. In that case no signed copy is written.
PDFluent Editor is free for everyone, at home and at work, including commercial use. No account is needed. Version 1.1 runs on macOS and Windows.
Signing and checking happen on your own machine. On macOS, documents are processed on your computer and the editor works without an internet connection, so the PDF and your certificate do not go to a website.
It is a file that holds a certificate together with its private key, protected by a password. The two endings mean the same kind of file. You usually receive it from your employer, an IT department or an ID provider. In the editor you load it with "Choose certificate".
Signing stops and the panel shows "Signing failed:" with the reason. No signed copy is written and your original is not touched. Type the password again and press "Sign and save a copy". If you no longer know the password, ask whoever gave you the certificate.
Not with this feature. The editor does not create a certificate for you. If you have none, ask your employer, your IT department or an ID provider for one as a .p12 or .pfx file.
No. The editor says "Signed documents cannot be edited", because changing the text would make the signature invalid. Make your changes to the original, then sign again. The original stays unsigned, so you can still work on it.
On macOS, yes. The editor works without an internet connection, and documents are processed on your computer. Signing itself happens on your own machine.
That depends on who issued your certificate and on the software the recipient uses. The editor does not decide it. If trust matters, ask the recipient which certificates they accept.
Yes. PDFluent Editor is free for everyone, including commercial and business use. There is no account to create.
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