Add “Initial here” boxes to a PDF you send out
Sending a lease, a job offer or a service contract that needs initials on every page? Mark the spot before it goes out. Pick a corner, type the label, choose the pages, check the preview and download the PDF with a box on each page. It's free, there's no account, and the file is processed by your own browser.
Signing a PDF you received? Subscribers can sign in here
- 1Choose the PDFPick the contract you are about to send. It is read on your device.
- 2Set label, corner and pagesFor example “Tenant initials”, bottom right, every page except the signature page.
- 3Download and sendOpen the new PDF once, then email it or share it the way you normally would.
“Initial here” box builder
Free · no account · your PDF stays on this device
Preview
Next: get it initialled and signed
Whoever receives the PDF can open it in the InitialPDF signer, set up their initials once, click them into the first box, press “Place on every page”, and sign the last page. If you sign the document too, do the same before you send it.
This box builder is free. The signer is free to try; downloading a signed PDF needs a plan (€2.99 a month or €24.99 a year, cancel anytime).
Sign a PDF in the InitialPDF signer →Built for the sender's side
One box or two
Add a second box for the other party, such as tenant and landlord or employee and employer. Both sit side by side in the same corner.
Skip the signature page
“All but the last page” leaves the signature page clean, or type a custom range like 1-6, 9 to mark only the pages you need.
Works on scans and landscape pages
The box goes in the corner the reader sees, even on rotated or scanned pages, so nobody has to hunt for it.
Box builder questions
- Is the box builder really free?
- Yes. There's no account, no watermark and no limit on how many PDFs you prepare; each file can be up to 100 MB. The only paid part of InitialPDF is downloading a PDF you signed in the signer.
- Does my contract get uploaded?
- No. Your browser reads the PDF, draws the preview and writes the new file on your device. The box builder doesn't send the document anywhere.
- Can my recipient type their initials into the box?
- The box isn't a form field, so there's nothing to type into. They place their initials over it with a PDF signer, or print the page and initial it by hand.
- My PDF is password-protected. What now?
- A locked PDF can't be changed, so the box builder will say so. If it's your own document, save an unlocked copy from the program that created it, then add the boxes.
- Can I remove a box later?
- Not from the new file, but your original stays untouched. Open the original again and make a new copy with different settings.
- What does it cost if the recipient signs here too?
- The boxes cost nothing. If someone then signs the PDF in InitialPDF, trying the signer is free and downloading the signed file needs a plan: €2.99 a month or €24.99 a year, cancel anytime, and access runs to the end of the paid period.
Updated 28 September 2026 · Written by Joe Farwick, who runs this site
Why mark the spot before you send
When a contract says “initial every page” but nothing on the page shows where, recipients improvise. Some initial the bottom left, some the top, some skip the pages they think don't matter, and a few initial only the first page. You notice when the document comes back and have to send it out again.
A labelled box removes the guesswork. The recipient sees an empty box on every page and fills it. You can flip through the returned PDF and spot a missing initial in seconds, because an empty box is obvious. It also keeps the initials out of the text, so nothing ends up written across a clause.
Choosing a label that works
If only one person initials, “Initials” is enough. With more than one party, name the role rather than the person: “Tenant initials” and “Landlord initials”, or “Employee initials” and “Employer initials”. Roles stay correct if a name changes, and each person knows which box is theirs. If you prefer a line to write on, “Initials: ________” works too.
Labels are capped at 40 characters so the box stays small. Accented letters such as é, ü, ñ and ß print normally. The PDF's built-in font can't draw every script, so characters such as Cyrillic, Greek, Chinese or emoji are left out, and the box builder tells you exactly which ones before you download.
Where the box should go
Bottom right is the usual place for page initials, and it's where most people look first. Before you settle on it, use the preview to check the footer: many templates already print a page number, a form code or a version date in the bottom margin. If the box would sit on top of that text, move it to bottom left or top right.
Keep some distance from the edge if the document might be printed. Many printers leave a narrow unprinted strip around the page, so a box drawn right at the edge can lose its border. The default of half an inch (13 mm) is a safe middle ground; a quarter inch suits PDFs that will only be signed on screen.
All pages, all but the last, or only some
Most contracts that ask for page initials also have a signature block on the last page. A full signature already covers that page, so “All but the last page” is the usual choice. Choose “All pages” when the last page is an exhibit, a schedule or a page of terms rather than the signature page.
“Only these pages” is for documents where only part of the file needs acknowledging, such as the pages of a lease that contain house rules, or the attachments to an offer letter. Type the pages as 1-3, 5 and the box builder shows which pages it will mark before you download.
Add “Page X of Y” to catch missing pages
Initials show that someone saw a page. Page numbers show that the document is complete. Tick “Print ‘Page X of Y’ inside each box” and every box carries its own page count, so a page that goes missing or gets added later is easy to notice. It's worth using when the original PDF has no page numbers of its own.
What the box is and what it isn't
The box is drawn onto the page, like a stamp. It isn't a fillable form field and it doesn't record who initialled it or when. Recipients initial it with whatever they already use: the InitialPDF signer, the Fill & Sign tool in Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview on a Mac, or a pen after printing.
If you need signing order, reminders and an audit trail, a paid e-signature service is the right tool. In Adobe Acrobat Sign you can repeat an initials field on every page, and DocuSign can AutoPlace a field wherever a phrase such as “Initials here” appears in your document. For a PDF you email and get back, a drawn box is simpler, and your recipient doesn't need an account anywhere.
When the PDF comes back
Check four things before you file it. Every box is filled. The initials match the person who signed at the end. The page count matches the version you sent. And the last page is signed and dated. Keep the file you sent next to the one you got back, so you can compare them page by page if a question ever comes up.
Three settings, one download
The box builder never changes your original file. It saves a new copy with “-initial-boxes” added to the name.
1
Choose the PDF
Pick the contract you are about to send. It is read on your device.
2
Set label, corner and pages
For example “Tenant initials”, bottom right, every page except the signature page.
3
Download and send
Open the new PDF once, then email it or share it the way you normally would.
Mark the pages before it goes out
Choose the PDF in the box builder above. It takes about a minute, and nothing is uploaded.
Add boxes to a PDF