While electronically signing Excel files isn’t as common as signing PDFs or Word documents, it’s still expected (and even preferred) in some business scenarios.
In this article, we’ll show you three ways to add an electronic signature to a Microsoft Excel file.
Adding your signature to an Excel spreadsheet is a great way to indicate approval, authorization, or confirmation. With the prevalence of digital documents in today’s workplace, learning how to insert a signature electronically can save time and add professionalism to your Excel files.
In this comprehensive guide I will walk through the various methods of adding a signature in Excel, with tips for choosing the right option for your needs.
Why Add a Signature in Excel?
First, let’s look at some of the key reasons you may want to add a signature to an Excel document:
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Indicate approval or sign-off: A signature shows you have reviewed and approved the content in the spreadsheet. This is especially useful for financial reports, project plans, expense sheets, and other sensitive documents.
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Show accountability Your signature demonstrates you are taking ownership of the data and calculations contained in the worksheet
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Verify authenticity: A signature serves as proof that the Excel file originates from you and has not been altered without your permission.
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Add a personal touch: In our digital world, a signature can give spreadsheets a human touch and personalize dry, statistical data.
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Save time: Signing electronically eliminates printing, signing, scanning and re-uploading documents.
Overview of Signature Options in Excel
There are a few different ways to add a signature in Excel
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Office Signature Line: Native digital signature feature requiring Microsoft certificate
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Image of signature: Inserted picture of scanned signature
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Drawn signature: Handwritten signature drawn with mouse/touchscreen
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Digital ID signature: Encrypted external digital ID signature service
The method you choose depends on your specific needs and the level of security required. Let’s look at each of these options in more detail:
Insert Office Signature Line
Excel has a built-in feature to insert an Office signature line for applying digital signatures. Here are the steps:
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Click the cell where you want the signature line to appear.
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Go to Insert > Text > Signature Line.
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Fill in signer details including name, title, email in pop-up box.
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Click OK to insert the signature line.
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Double-click the line to open the Sign dialog box.
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Type, draw, or insert a picture of your signature.
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Click Sign to embed the signature.
This method verifies you as the signer using a Microsoft certificate. To fully utilize this security feature, you’ll need to purchase a certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority.
Pros: Verifiable and tamper-evident signing, integrates well with Excel.
Cons: Requires paid certificate, not visually customizable.
Insert Image of Signature
A quick and easy way to add a signature is by inserting it as a picture. Here is how:
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Obtain an image file of your signature, either scanned or photographed.
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In Excel, go to Insert > Pictures and select your signature image file.
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Resize and position the image as needed on the worksheet.
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Optional: Reduce Transparency under Picture Format to make it appear darker.
Pros: Simple, fast and free method. Visually customizable.
Cons: Less secure, signature image could potentially be misused.
Draw Signature with Mouse or Touchscreen
If you don’t have an image file, you can draw the signature directly in Excel:
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Go to Insert > Shapes and select the ‘Freeform’ drawing tool.
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Using your mouse or touchscreen, draw your signature within the worksheet.
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Adjust sizing, color and line thickness as needed.
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Position the drawn signature object where desired.
Pros: No external image file needed, draws signature on the fly.
Cons: More time consuming, hard to recreate consistently.
Add Digital ID Signature
For maximum security, utilize a third-party digital ID signature service that encrypts and embeds the signature into the Excel file. Popular options include DocuSign, Adobe Sign, SignNow and PandaDoc.
Follow these general steps:
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Create an account with a digital ID service provider.
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Upload document to their platform.
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Follow prompts to create your encrypted digital signature.
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Download the signed file.
Pros: Tamper-proof, legally compliant secure signatures.
Cons: Paid service, requires software and account.
Tips for Adding Signatures in Excel
Here are some additional tips when inserting signatures in Excel:
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Maintain signature consistency by re-using the same image, Office signature or digital ID.
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For multi-page reports, insert signature on each sheet or in header/footer.
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Always sign after finalizing the spreadsheet content to avoid inadvertent changes.
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Add signature to cell that won’t push content out of view when inserted.
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Use a larger signature image and reduce transparency rather than making it too small.
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Draw simple signatures with few details if using mouse/touch to draw.
Inserting Signatures via VBA Macro
You can also automate inserting signatures using a VBA macro, helpful for batch signing multiple Excel files.
Example steps:
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Record a macro of inserting signature image.
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Save macro to Personal Workbook to persist across files.
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Attach to Quick Access Toolbar to run with one click whenever needed.
This approach streamlines adding consistent signatures repeatedly with minimal effort.
Recommendations for Signature Usage
Here are my top recommendations per use case:
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Minor personal spreadsheets – Drawn signature or image insertion
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Team worksheets – Office signature line
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Official approvals – Digital ID signature service
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Quick sign-offs – Default image macro via VBA
Ultimately, choose the method that meets your specific security needs, technical skills and frequency of use.
Adding your signature to Excel documents is easy and quick with several options available. The built-in Office signature line, image import or drawing methods provide a fast way to approve and personalize spreadsheets. For maximum tamper-proof security, utilize a digital ID signature service.
Be sure to pick the technique that aligns with your use case, whether it’s a simple team tracker or official financial report. Inserting a signature takes your Excel files to the next level, proving data integrity and accountability.
What is an electronic signature?
In a nutshell, an e-signature is a virtual mark affixed to a document to signify approval.
Let’s pretend that somebody receives a contract as an email attachment. They open up the document, add a photocopied file of their signature to the bottom of the final page, and send it back.
They’ve just electronically approved the document.
It’s possible to add further layers of security to this process with specialized tools. After a document is signed electronically, a certificate generates automatically, and a copy is stored as a PDF in the cloud.
Generally speaking, electronic signatures are just as secure as typical handwritten signatures, if not more so. Governments worldwide have introduced numerous pieces of legislation (eIDAS, ESIGN Act, Electronic Communications Act, etc.).
Furthermore, electronic signatures typically accompany an extensive “audit trail,” such as emails, which makes them very easy to verify.
What is a digital signature?
A digital signature is a highly secure type of electronic signature. Digital signatures rely on what’s called a public key infrastructure (PKI) to verify documents.
It’s near-impossible to forge a digital signature or amend a document once signed.
Individuals that want to use digital signatures must first purchase a digital certificate (or digital ID) from a “certificate authority.”
Whenever the certificate holder approves a contract, proposal, invoice, etc., they affix this digital ID to the document, creating a unique encrypted file.
This file can only be decrypted with a public key explicitly tied to that individual.
To add a digital signature in Excel (which will automatically recognize any digital certificates stored on your computer), you will need to purchase an ID first or create your own.
Excel 2016 : How to Add and Create a Digital signature
How to insert a digital signature in Excel?
You can also insert a digital signature in Excel through the program itself. Here’s how: Select the cell where you wish to insert a signature and click on the Insert tab. Then, go to Text, click on Signature Line, and select Microsoft Office Signature Line.
How to insert a signature in Microsoft Office?
Here’s how: Select the cell where you wish to insert a signature and click on the Insert tab. Then, go to Text, click on Signature Line, and select Microsoft Office Signature Line. Here, you can enter the info related to your online signatures, such as the signer’s name and suggested signer’s title, their email address.
How do I add a signature image in Excel?
When you have your signature image file ready, open your Excel document. Then, under the Insert tab, look for Pictures, and select Pictures From File. Here, you can look up your signature image file and upload it, cropping the extra blank areas if needed.
How to write a signature in Excel?
Then, follow Steps 1-2 and insert the image into your Excel document by clicking on “Insert” then “Picture.” If you want to draw your signature within Excel, go to the “Insert” tab and select “Shapes” and select the “Scribble” option. You can then draw your signature with the cursor or a stylus using the drawing tools.
