The file formats SignPe accepts
Most signature requests start with whatever file happens to be on hand. A supplier sends a Word contract, your accountant emails a PDF, a client photographs a form on their kitchen table. SignPe is built to take all three without a detour through a converter.
| Format | File types | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Contracts, NDAs, statements, forms exported from other software | ||
| Microsoft Word | .doc, .docx | Offer letters, agreements and proposals still being written in Word |
| Images | .jpg, .jpeg, .png | Photos or screenshots of paper forms, receipts and signed pages |
Each upload can be up to 20 MB. That comfortably covers a multi-page lease, a scanned set of onboarding forms or a proposal full of images. Each file you upload becomes one document, with as many pages as the file holds.
Signing PDFs
PDF is the standard format for agreements, and it is what SignPe hands back at the end of every signing. Upload a PDF and it opens in the editor exactly as it was laid out: fonts, tables and page breaks stay where the author put them.
From there you drag fields onto the pages — Signature, Initials, Stamp, Full Name, Email, Company, Designation, Date, Text, Checkmark and Shape — and assign each one to a signer. If you have never done this before, our guide on how to sign a PDF without printing walks through it from start to finish.
Signing Word documents
Plenty of agreements are still drafted in Word, and asking the other side to export a PDF first adds a round of emails nobody wants. With SignPe you upload the DOC or DOCX file as it is, place your fields and send it.
Tip: finish editing before you upload
Make your last tracked changes and accept them in Word first. Once a document is out for signature, everyone should be signing the same final wording — a signature request is not the place for redlines.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read how to add a signature to a Word document.
Signing images and photos of paper documents
Sometimes the only copy of a document is a piece of paper. Take a photo, or several, and upload them as JPG, JPEG or PNG files. When you pick more than one photo, SignPe combines them into one PDF automatically, so a five-page paper form becomes a single five-page document rather than five separate requests.
- Shoot in good light. Daylight or a bright room keeps text sharp and shadows off the page.
- Keep the phone parallel to the paper. Angled shots make lines slope and text harder to read.
- Fill the frame. Crop out the desk so the page is as large and legible as possible.
- Pick pages in order. The order you select photos is the order the pages appear.
On the mobile app you can also use Scan, which uses your phone’s document scanner with automatic edge detection. See importing from photos and the cloud for how scanning and photo import work.
Where your files can come from
File format support is only half the job; the file also has to reach SignPe. You can upload from your computer on the web app at app.signpe.com, or on your phone pick from Photos, Files, or a cloud account. The mobile Add Document sheet offers Scan, Photos, Files, Drive, OneDrive, Box and Dropbox — each cloud option signs into your account and shows a file browser so you can pick the file without downloading it first.
More on that in cloud storage integration.
Who it helps
- [Human resources](/industries/human-resources) teams send offer letters written in Word without exporting them first, and collect photographed ID forms from new starters.
- [Real estate](/industries/real-estate) agents receive a lease as a PDF from one landlord and a DOCX from another, and handle both the same way.
- [Accountants](/industries/accounting-and-tax) get engagement letters signed as PDFs, and accept a client’s photographed paper form when that is all they have.
- Small businesses send quotes and vendor agreements in whatever format the other side used, so nobody has to install a converter.
The small details
- One file is one document. A 40-page PDF counts once, however many pages it has.
- Unlimited pages and signers. Even on the free plan, each document can have as many pages and signers as it needs.
- Drafts are free. Upload a file, prepare it and save it as a draft; it only counts when you send or self-sign it.
- Everyone gets the same final copy. When the last signer finishes, all parties are emailed the completed, signed document.
- Every action is logged. The audit trail PDF records the document ID, sent and completed dates, and when each signer was emailed, viewed and signed.
Keep the original handy
If you need to change the wording later, edit your original Word file and send a fresh request. A signed PDF is the record of what was agreed, not a working draft.
Why one tool for every format matters
The old way of signing a Word file or a photographed form went something like this: print it, sign it, scan it, email it back, and hope the scan was legible. Even the digital shortcut — convert to PDF, then upload to a signing tool — adds a step where the wrong version can slip through.
- Fewer steps. Upload the file you were sent, not a converted copy of it.
- Fewer mistakes. No juggling “contract-final-v3.pdf” against “contract-final-v3.docx”.
- One consistent result. Every signer gets the same signed PDF and the same audit trail, whatever the starting format.
- Paper is no longer a dead end. A photographed form can be signed by people in three different cities the same afternoon.
And because your free plan includes 3 real documents with unlimited pages and signers on each, you can try every format before you decide on a plan.
How to upload and send any file for signature
Start a new document
On the web app or mobile app, start a new document and choose your file: a PDF, a Word document (DOC or DOCX) or one or more images (JPG, JPEG or PNG), up to 20 MB.
Check the pages
The file opens in the editor. If you picked several photos, they appear as one PDF in the order you selected them.
Choose how it will be signed
Pick “I’m the only signer”, “Set signer order” to request signatures from others, or “In person Signing” to hand your device to the signer.
Place fields and send
Drag Signature, Date, Text and other fields onto the pages, assign each to a signer, and send. Everyone receives the signed PDF when the last signature is in.
