How to sign a Google Docs document

Google Docs is where many businesses draft contracts and proposals, but how to sign them isn't obvious. There are two ways to add your own signature, and one for getting someone else to sign with a proper record.

Go to Insert → Drawing → New. In the line tool choose "Scribble", sign with your mouse or trackpad and click "Save and close". The signature becomes a drawing you can move and resize.

It's quick, but with a mouse the stroke tends to come out shaky.

If you already have your signature as a transparent PNG, go to Insert → Image → Upload from computer. Then, in the image options, choose "In front of text" to place it exactly on the line. You can create that PNG for free at firmiu.com/en/create-signature.

Sharing the Doc so the other person inserts their signature doesn't work well: anyone with edit access can change the text before or after signing, and there's no record of who did what.

Some paid Google Workspace plans include an eSignature feature. If you don't have it, the practical route is: File → Download → PDF, and send that PDF from a signature platform. The PDF locks the content, each signer gets their own link and the result comes with its certificate and SHA-256 fingerprint: if anyone changes a comma afterwards, it shows.

To sign something informal yourself: Drawing or an image. For a contract others sign: export to PDF and send it for signature. With Firmiu, the free plan covers 3 documents a month and the signer needs no account.