How to Create Fillable PDF Forms Online Free

Add text boxes, checkboxes, radio buttons and dropdowns to a PDF, so the people you send it to can fill it in with any PDF reader.

Step by step

1.Open the PDF

Click Open file in the toolbar, or drop the PDF onto the page. Use the file you want people to fill in.

The empty editor, with an arrow to the Open file button in the toolbar and a Browse Files button in the middle.

2.Open Form Fields

Open the Insert menu and click Form Fields. The Insert Form Field dialog opens.

The Insert menu open, with Form Fields outlined in red.

3.Choose a field type

Choose the type of field: Text Field for one or several lines of text, Checkbox for a yes-or-no choice, Radio Button to pick one option from a group, or Dropdown to pick from a list. Then place it on the page.

The Insert Form Field dialog with Text Field, Checkbox, Radio Button and Dropdown.

4.Set the field's details

Select a field to change its settings in the panel on the right. The panel holds the field's name, its label and placeholder, whether it is required, and its tab order, which is the order the Tab key moves through the fields.

A selected form field, with the settings panel on the right showing its name, label and tab order.

5.Check the layout

Scroll through every page. Make sure the fields line up with the labels they belong to, and that a reader has room to type.

6.Export the form

Click Export in the toolbar and save the file. The fields stay fillable in the exported PDF.

The editor with the form and an arrow pointing at the Export button in the toolbar.

The exported form open in a PDF viewer, with the fields filled in. — The exported form in a PDF viewer.

Filling it in

Send the exported file. The person who fills it in opens it in a PDF reader such as Chrome or Acrobat, types into the fields and saves a copy.

Try it on your own file

Everything in this guide happens in your browser tab. Your file stays on your device.

Open the PDF editor