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Guide · Editing PDFs

How to edit a PDF on an iPhone

Reviewed

Hands marking up a printed manuscript with a pencil on a wooden desk, sticky notes and tabs

Short answer

On an iPhone, open the PDF in the Files app and tap the Markup button to add text, signatures, shapes and highlights, or tap fields to fill a form. These built-in tools add content but can't change text that's already in the PDF. To change existing words, open the PDF in a browser-based editor such as PDFBetter in Safari, tap the line and retype it.

On this page (6)

Built-in tools: Files, Markup and Preview

The Files app opens PDFs and includes Markup: drawing tools plus an Add button with options to add text, a signature, a shape or a sticker. Apple's iPhone guide also describes form filling, including an AutoFill button that suggests information for blank fields. From iOS 26, the iPhone also has a Preview app with form-filling and signing tools, and the ability to scan documents to PDF.

None of these change the original text of a PDF. They place new content on top of the page.

Edit PDF mode on a services agreement: every paragraph of the original PDF has a dashed outline, and the payment paragraph is selected with font, size and color controls above it
  1. Existing text becomes editable paragraphs, not just lines
  2. The detected font and size are kept — here Times at 11.5 pt
  3. Switch between filling fields and editing the page itself

The editor in Edit PDF mode, with a paragraph selected. Sample content; names and companies are fictional.

Add text or fill a form in the Files app

  1. 1

    Open the PDF in Files

    If the PDF came by email or message, save it to Files first, then open it.

  2. 2

    Fill fields

    Tap the form-filling or AutoFill option and tap a blank field to type. Review any suggested information before accepting it.

  3. 3

    Add text where there are no fields

    Tap Markup, then the Add button, then Add Text. Drag the text box onto the line and type.

  4. 4

    Finish

    Tap Done. Share, print or export the edited file from the menu.

Change existing text on iPhone with PDFBetter

  1. 1

    Open PDFBetter in Safari

    Go to Edit PDF. Nothing to install.

  2. 2

    Upload from Files

    Tap the upload area and choose the PDF from Files, iCloud Drive or another location.

  3. 3

    Tap the text and retype

    Original text becomes editable line by line. Zoom in for precise selection.

  4. 4

    Download back to Files

    Downloading the edited copy needs a free account. Safari saves it to the Downloads folder in Files by default.

Tips for editing on a small screen

Turn the phone to landscape for wider pages. Pinch to zoom before selecting text so you grab the right line. For long or complex edits, start on the phone and finish on a computer; with an account, the same document opens on both.

Tools used in this guide

Questions people ask

Can I edit PDF text on iPhone without an app?

Yes. Browser-based editors like PDFBetter run in Safari, so you can change existing text without installing anything. The built-in Files Markup tools add content but don't change original text.

Where are my Markup changes saved?

Markup in the Files app saves changes to the PDF you opened. Duplicate the file first if you need to keep an unmarked copy.

Can I edit a scanned PDF on iPhone?

Markup can draw and add text over a scan. To change the scanned words themselves, run OCR and then edit, which you can do in PDFBetter in Safari.

Is there a size limit on iPhone?

The same limits apply as on a computer: 25 MB per file without an account and 50 MB on the Free plan. Very large files can be slow on older phones.

Can I sign a PDF on iPhone?

Yes, with Markup's Add Signature option or in PDFBetter. See the iPhone signing guide for both methods.