How to create a fillable PDF form
Updated
To create a fillable PDF form, open the Create Fillable Forms tool, place fields on the pages where answers belong, and save the result. You get a reusable fillable AcroForm PDF — real form fields that anyone can complete on a screen instead of printing and writing.
The difference is where the work happens. This is a client-side tool: it builds the form in your browser with WebAssembly and browser APIs, so the document stays on your device from the moment you pick it to the moment you save the finished file. There is no account to create — open the page and start placing fields.
The output is built to be reused. Because the fields are genuine AcroForm fields, the same PDF can be sent out and completed again and again, and it pairs naturally with the Fill Forms tool for the people on the receiving end.
Open Create Fillable FormsStep by step
- 1Open the Create Fillable Forms tool and pick the PDF you want to make fillable — it stays on your device.
- 2Choose the field type you need: text, checkbox, dropdown, radio, or list — the five field types the builder supports.
- 3Place the field by position on the page, right where the answer belongs — a text field over a blank answer line, a checkbox beside each item.
- 4Repeat for every answer the form collects, mixing field types as the document calls for: radio groups where exactly one choice applies, dropdowns and lists where the answers are known in advance.
- 5Run the tool in your browser to build the fields into the PDF as a real AcroForm.
- 6Save the finished fillable PDF to your device — it is ready to send out and reuse.
Choose the right field type
The builder supports five field types: text, checkbox, dropdown, radio, and list. Text fields take free-form answers — names, dates, addresses, comments. Checkboxes suit independent yes-or-no items, where any number of them can be checked at once. A radio group is for a question with exactly one acceptable answer out of several: place the group where the question is answered, and it keeps the choice to a single answer.
Reach for a dropdown or a list when the acceptable answers are known in advance — departments, countries, product names — so the person completing the form picks from your set instead of typing. Matching the field type to the question is most of the work of a good form: it makes the answers cleaner and the form faster to complete.
Where the work happens
Create Fillable Forms is a client-side tool. The processing runs in your browser using WebAssembly and browser APIs, not on a server — the PDF you pick stays on your device from start to finish. That is also why no account is required: there is nothing to set up before you start placing fields.
One honest note about connectivity: the page and its processing engine arrive over the network, and the engine is fetched the first time you use the tool. From there, the work itself happens on your device, so a connection that drops mid-build does not interrupt work already in progress.
What you get, and the limits
The tool accepts a PDF and produces a PDF — specifically a reusable, fillable AcroForm document. The tool is in beta — the five field types above are the supported set. Because the fields are genuine form fields rather than flat marks on the page, one saved copy can be distributed and completed over and over, with each person entering their own answers.
Each PDF can be up to 100 MB. When it is time to complete the form, the Fill Forms tool handles the other half of the job: it fills a PDF's existing AcroForm fields — text, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns, and lists — right in the browser. And when a form needs a signature to finish it, the Sign PDF tool adds one.
Common questions
Is my PDF sent to a server when I create a fillable form?
No. Create Fillable Forms runs entirely in your browser with WebAssembly and browser APIs — the file stays on your device from start to finish. There is also no account to create.
What kinds of form fields can I add to a PDF?
Five field types: text, checkbox, dropdown, radio, and list. Fields are placed by position, so each one sits exactly where its answer belongs on the page.
How large can my PDF be?
Up to 100 MB per file.
Can I create a fillable PDF offline?
Not fully. The page and its processing engine load over the network, with the engine fetched the first time you use the tool. After that, the processing itself runs on your device, and a dropped connection does not interrupt work already in progress.
How do people fill out the form I made?
The result is a standard fillable AcroForm PDF. Anyone can complete it with the Fill Forms tool, which fills a PDF's existing fields — text, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns, and lists — right in the browser and saves the completed copy as a PDF.