How to Make a PDF Fillable: A Step-by-Step Guide

Making fillable PDFs is exceptionally helpful for any document that has to be filled out electronically, such as forms, contracts, applications, and so on. In this guide, we’ll demonstrate how you can make a PDF fillable with Adobe Acrobat and a free online alternative. Let’s begin!

Tools You’ll Need

To create a fillable PDF you will need the following tools:

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (paid, professional tool)
PDFescape or JotForm PDF Editor (free or freemium online tools)

Method 1: Using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Step 1: Open Your PDF in Adobe Acrobat

Open Adobe Acrobat and click on “Prepare Form” found on the right pane.

Screenshot Placeholder: Adobe Acrobat welcome screen featuring “Prepare Form” option

Step 2: Select a File

You can now click on “Select a file” to upload the fillable PDF that you want to work on.

Screenshot Placeholder: File selection dialog with PDF selected

Step 3: Acrobat Automatically Detects Form Fields

Acrobat will process the document and, if possible, automatically detect fields. You can change them manually if required.

Screenshot Placeholder: Acrobat auto-detecting fields

Step 4: Add More Fields Manually

From the toolbar, you can make additional selections such as:

Text fields
Checkboxes
Radio buttons
Dropdowns

Screenshot Placeholder: Toolbar with form field options highlighted

Step 5: Save the Fillable PDF

With all necessary fields added, click “Fill > Save As” to save your new fillable PDF.

Screenshot Placeholder: Save dialog box

Method 2: Using a Free Online Tool (PDFescape)

Here’s how to do it for free, in the absence of Adobe Acrobat.

Step 1: Go to PDFescape.com

Select “Free Online” to start editing directly in your web browser.

Screenshot Placeholder: PDFescape homepage

Step 2: Upload Your PDF

To your right, click “Upload PDF to PDFescape” then select your file.

Screenshot Placeholder: File upload screen

Step 3: Add Form Fields

From the Form Field tab, you can add to the document by inserting text boxes, checkboxes, and more.

Placeholder Screenshot: Form fields menu selected text box.

Step 4: Save & Download

To finish, click “Save & Download PDF”.

Placeholder Screenshot: Download options in PDFescape.

Tips for Better Fillable PDFs

Clearly define instructions and labels.
Use the PDF yourself before sending it to others.
Utilize the tab order to control the flow of data entry.

Final Remarks

Incorporating fillable fields into a PDF document can streamline processes and enhance convenience for users interacting with your forms. The process is straightforward with Adobe Acrobat or other free tools once you know how to begin.