How to Add Text to a PDF – Any Font, Any Position
There are two kinds of "filling out a PDF" tasks. The first kind is easy: the form has interactive fields built in, you click them, and you type. The second kind is trickier: the form is a flat image, either scanned or created without fillable fields, and nothing happens when you click on it. The Add Text tool solves the second problem by letting you place typed text anywhere on the page, regardless of what is underneath.
This guide walks through using the Add Text tool, explains the font and formatting options, and covers the situations where it is most useful.
When to use Add Text vs. the Fill tool
The Fill tool detects AcroForm fields baked into the PDF structure. If the document was built with a form editor like Adobe Acrobat, the fields are there and Fill will find them. But a large portion of the PDFs that people actually need to fill out were not built this way. Some were printed and scanned, some were created in Microsoft Word or similar software and saved as flat PDFs, and some are older documents where no one ever added interactive fields.
If you click the Fill button and nothing highlights on the page, that is your signal to switch to Add Text. You can tell the difference immediately: with the Fill tool active, fillable fields show a light-colored overlay when the cursor moves near them. No overlays means no fields.
The font options: Arial, Times New Roman, and Courier
The Add Text tool offers three font choices. These are not arbitrary. They are the three "standard" typefaces embedded in every PDF viewer since the earliest Acrobat versions, which means text in any of these three fonts will render correctly on any device without additional font installation.
| Font | Style | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Arial | Sans-serif, clean | General forms, most government documents, printed-to-PDF originals |
| Times New Roman | Serif, traditional | Legal documents, contracts, documents that already use a serif body font |
| Courier | Monospace | Forms that expect a fixed-width typeface, older government forms, typed-appearance entries |
For most everyday form-filling, Arial at 10 or 11 points matches the printed text on the majority of government and business forms. Times New Roman works when the form itself uses a serif font and you want the added text to match the surrounding typography.
Step-by-step: adding text to a PDF
Go to totallyfreepdf.com and open your document. The editor loads the first page in the center canvas.
Click the Add Text button in the toolbar. The right panel updates to show text formatting options.
In the right panel, select your font (Arial, Times New Roman, or Courier) from the dropdown. Enter a font size in the size field. Toggle Bold or Italic if needed. Choose black or blue for the text color. Black is standard for most forms; blue is traditional for handwritten entries on some legal forms.
Click directly on the PDF canvas at the spot you want your text. A text cursor appears there. Start typing. The text builds out from the click point.
After placing text, you can drag it to adjust position. This is useful when you need to line up typed text with a small form field. Click the text element to select it, then drag it into the right spot.
Click a new spot on the page to place another text box. You can add as many as you need. Navigate between pages using the Pages panel on the left to add text on other pages of the document.
Click Download PDF. All the text you added is embedded into the document. Open it in any PDF viewer and the text is there as part of the page.
Typical use cases for the Add Text tool
Filling out flat government forms
Many older government forms, particularly from state and county agencies, are image-only PDFs. They have no interactive fields despite looking like they should. Common examples include certain court forms, older DMV documents, and historical records. The Add Text tool lets you complete these without printing.
Annotating a document
Sometimes you need to add notes, corrections, or labels to a PDF that is not a form at all. This could be a contract where you want to mark a section as "Reviewed," a report where you want to add a note in the margin, or a property floor plan where you want to label rooms. The text tool handles all of these.
Adding a date or reference number
Legal and business documents often require a handwritten date or a reference number in a specific spot. Instead of printing and writing by hand, you can type the date or number directly on the PDF. Use Courier at 10 or 11 points for a typewritten appearance on older legal documents.
Completing forms from foreign sources
Forms from organizations outside the US often arrive as flat PDFs. Bank forms, university application supplementals, and international shipping documents frequently have no AcroForm fields. The Add Text tool handles these regardless of the form's origin or language.
Combining Add Text with other tools
The tools in the editor work together. A common workflow for a flat form:
- Use Add Text to fill in all the typed fields on the form
- Switch to Sign to draw your signature and place it on the signature line
- Download the completed, signed document
You can also combine Add Text with Redact if a form contains information you need to fill in but also needs some sections blacked out before sharing. Fill everything in first, then switch to Redact to cover what should not be seen.
Why font choice matters for legibility
A 9-point Arial entry on a form with 8-point printed text looks natural. A 14-point Times New Roman entry in the same space looks out of place and may be harder to read. A few seconds adjusting the font size to match the surrounding printed text makes your completed form look professionally filled, not obviously annotated after the fact. This matters for anything being filed with a court, government agency, or employer.