Exact PDF layout
Current choice
Keep the Original Design
Fields sit on top of your PDF without moving its text, branding, or layout. Best for approved, regulated, or familiar documents.
Turn an existing PDF into a fillable form without rebuilding its design.
Make Your PDF
Fillable Online
Upload your existing PDF and add fillable fields while keeping every detail intact. Users complete the form in their browser and submit it digitally—no downloads, printing, or scanning. AI automatically detects form fields to save setup time.
Keep your PDF layout, make it interactive
Your design stays - AI adds fields for typing,
checkboxes, or signatures.
Try it Free - no sign-up needed
How do I convert a PDF into a fillable PDF?
Upload the PDF to PlatoForms and let AI detect its form fields. Check each field and add any it missed, then publish the form and share its link. People fill it in their browser, and each submission produces a completed PDF in your original layout, with no Adobe Acrobat needed.
1. Upload your PDF
On the Dashboard, click Start to build, select PDF → Online Form, then PDF Fillable Form, and upload your file. Click Build a PDF Fillable Form to keep its exact layout.
2. Let AI detect the fields
In the AI-Powered form recognition banner, click Start Now!, then Load Form!. Check each field’s position, label and format, or add fields from the toolbar.
3. Publish and collect completed PDFs
Click Publish and share the form by link, QR code or embed script. Completed PDFs appear on the Submissions page, where you can view or download them.
When Design Can’t Change
Perfect for documents with approved or mandated formatting
Digital submission without the printing and scanning
From Static PDF to Interactive Form
Static PDFs cause disconnected submissions, manual follow-ups, and inconsistent records—especially for tax forms, applications, contracts, and compliance documents.
PlatoForms converts your PDF into an online fillable form. Share a link or QR code. Users complete it in their browser. You collect submissions in one dashboard. See why PlatoForms is a Jotform alternative for PDF forms.
A fully digital submission flow—from link sharing to centralized data collection.
AI maps each field to its original position — nothing moves
Fields Land Exactly Where They Are on Your PDF
• Pins fields to their original coordinates — text boxes, checkboxes, dropdowns, signatures, and dates stay where your PDF already placed them.
• No reflow, no re-layout — the page structure, columns, and spacing you designed stay untouched.
• Adjust in seconds — reposition or retype any field to match exactly what you need.
• Works best on standard forms — dense or artistic layouts may need manual touch-up.
How AI detects PDF form fields
• No reflow, no re-layout — the page structure, columns, and spacing you designed stay untouched.
• Adjust in seconds — reposition or retype any field to match exactly what you need.
• Works best on standard forms — dense or artistic layouts may need manual touch-up.
What users see matches what you designed
Your Document, Unaltered
Your original PDF is the base document PlatoForms builds from. Whether your PDF has intricate graphics, multi-column layouts, specific fonts, or lengthy legal text, the original PDF is rendered as-is, while interactive fields are layered on top—without reflowing text, resizing elements, or altering layout logic.
Submitted data appears exactly where you designed it—no reformatting needed.
Ideal for official documents, compliance forms, contracts, applications, and any PDF where the appearance has been pre-approved or mandated.
Submitted data appears exactly where you designed it—no reformatting needed.
Ideal for official documents, compliance forms, contracts, applications, and any PDF where the appearance has been pre-approved or mandated.
Same PDF, Two Ways to Make It Fillable
Both options start with your existing PDF. Choose what respondents should see.
Responsive web layout
Reflow It for Any Screen
Your PDF content becomes a mobile-friendly web form. Best when easy completion on phones matters more than pixel-perfect layout.
Learn through step-by-step demos and tutorials
How to Convert PDF into Fillable Form
From PDF to Fillable Form — Follow the Steps
- On your PlatoForms dashboard, click Start to build, then select PDF → Online Form.
- Select PDF Fillable Form, then upload your PDF.
- On the Confirm your form type page, click Build a PDF Fillable Form to keep your PDF’s exact layout.
- Click Start Now! in the AI-powered recognition bar (or find AI Recognition Form in the ••• menu), then click Load Form! to add the detected fields — or add fields yourself.
- In Preview & Design, review the fields placed over your original PDF layout.
- Click Publish, then share your form by link, QR code, or embed script.
For full tutorials, visit our User Guide.
FAQ’S
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How do I make an existing PDF fillable online without Adobe Acrobat?
Upload your PDF to PlatoForms and review the fields detected by AI. You can add or edit text fields, checkboxes, dropdowns, dates, and signature fields before publishing the form. Recipients can then open the shared link and complete the form in their browser.
For detailed instructions, follow our guide to creating a fillable PDF.
If you do not have a PDF yet, create one with PDF Document Creator or start with a PDF template.
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How do I convert a PDF to an editable PDF?
If you need people to type into the PDF, make it fillable: upload it to PlatoForms, let AI detect the fields, and publish the form. Recipients fill it in their browser, and their answers are added to a completed copy of your PDF. PlatoForms does not change the PDF’s own text, so edit the wording in the source document before you upload it. -
Can AI convert a PDF to a fillable form?
Yes. When you upload a PDF, PlatoForms’ AI scans the document and detects likely field positions—text boxes, checkboxes, dropdowns, dates, and signature lines—and adds them automatically. Review and adjust the detected fields before publishing; AI detection saves setup time but isn’t guaranteed to catch every field on complex layouts. -
Will my PDF keep its original layout?
Yes. PlatoForms uses the uploaded PDF as the base document and places fillable fields over it. The existing text, images, branding, and page layout remain in place. Submitted answers appear in the field positions you set. -
Can recipients fill out my PDF on a phone?
Yes. Recipients can open the form in a mobile browser, enter their answers, and submit it without installing an app. The layout stays the same as your original PDF, so long or complex documents may require some scrolling and zooming on a small screen. The submitted answers are added to the original PDF.
If you’d rather have the form reflow into a mobile-friendly layout, or want a Conversational, one-question-at-a-time view, see Web PDF Form.
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Can I create a fillable PDF for free?
Every new account starts with a 15-day free trial of paid features, and no credit card is required. During the trial, you can upload a PDF, add fields, publish the form, and test the submission process. Visit the pricing page for current plan features and limits. -
How do I receive the completed PDF?
After someone submits the form, the completed PDF appears on the Submissions page in your PlatoForms account. Open the submission’s Actions menu to view or download the PDF. You can also attach it to a notification email, export PDFs for multiple submissions, or save generated PDFs to a connected cloud drive.
Submission data can also be exported as a CSV file. Learn more about managing submissions.
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Why is my PDF not showing fillable fields?
A PDF only shows fillable fields once someone has added them—a plain or scanned PDF has none by default. Upload it to PlatoForms and run AI field detection, or add fields manually with the field editor, then publish the form so recipients see fillable boxes when they open it. -
What are common problems with fillable PDFs?
The most common issues are fields placed in the wrong spot, labels that don’t match the field type, checkboxes or radio buttons that aren’t grouped correctly, and layouts that break on mobile because the PDF page is too wide to read without zooming. PlatoForms’ AI field detection reduces manual placement errors, and you can preview the form before publishing to catch anything that needs adjusting. -
Should I use a fillable PDF or a custom web form?
Use a fillable PDF when you need to keep the original document layout, such as for a contract, application, or government form. Use a custom web form when the questions should adjust to different screen sizes. If you already have a PDF but want a web-based layout, see how to convert a PDF into a web form.