How to create a custom PDF stamp

Stamps are how offices have marked documents for a century: RECEIVED with today's date, APPROVED with initials, PAID with a reference number. A digital stamp does the same job without the ink pad, and unlike a watermark it goes exactly where you put it, on exactly the pages you choose.

This guide walks through building a stamp, placing it precisely, applying it to the right pages and saving it for reuse with the free Custom PDF Stamp Creator.

When should you use a stamp instead of a watermark?

• You need a date or time recorded on the document.
• The mark belongs in a specific place, such as beside a signature block.
• Only certain pages should carry it.
• You want a bordered, badge-style mark rather than large diagonal text.
• The same mark will be reused across many documents.

If you simply need DRAFT across every page, the simpler Watermark PDF tool is the faster choice.

Benefits

• Pixel-accurate placement with drag, resize and rotate handles.
• Date and time stamps without typing today's date by hand.
• Reusable saved stamps organised into folders for different contexts.
• Full control of fonts, weight, colours, borders, opacity and rotation.
• Everything processed in the browser, so nothing is uploaded.

Before you start

• Decide the wording and whether a date or time is required.
• Know which pages need stamping — all, a selection, or just the current page.
• Have any logo image ready as PNG, JPG, SVG or WEBP if you plan to import one.

How to create and place a custom stamp

Step 1 — Upload the PDF

Open the Custom PDF Stamp Creator and add your document. The first page renders in the preview canvas.

Step 2 — Start from a template or a blank stamp

Open the template gallery for ready-made approval, received and paid designs, or begin blank and build your own.

Step 3 — Edit the content

Set your text lines, and add a date or time element if the document needs one. Choose the font, size, weight and style.

Step 4 — Style the stamp

Adjust text and border colours, border thickness, corner shape, opacity and rotation. A slight rotation of a few degrees reads as a real rubber stamp; a perfectly level stamp reads as a label.

Step 5 — Position it on the page

Drag the stamp where it belongs, then use the corner handles to resize and the rotation handle to angle it. Zoom in before fine positioning — the preview is accurate to the exported file.

Step 6 — Choose which pages to stamp

Apply to the current page, a selection of pages, or every page. Approval stamps usually belong on the first and signature pages only.

Step 7 — Save the stamp and export

Save the design to My Saved Stamps so it can be reapplied in one click next time, then export the stamped PDF.

Reusing stamps with the saved library

Saved stamps can be renamed, duplicated, favourited and grouped into folders such as Office, Business, School, Legal or Personal. The library also supports JSON export and import, which is how you move your stamps to another device or keep a backup.

Common mistakes

• Stamping every page when only the cover and signature pages need it.
• Placing the stamp over text that must remain legible.
• Using 100% opacity over dense content — 70-90% usually reads better.
• Forgetting to save a stamp you will need again next month.

Troubleshooting

Best practices

• Build a small set of standard stamps for your team rather than improvising each time.
• Export a JSON backup of your library after adding stamps you care about.
• Keep stamps out of margins that might be trimmed when printed.
• Stamp after the document is final; a stamped draft invites confusion.

Security and privacy notes

Stamps are applied in your browser and saved stamps live in your browser's local storage on your own device — they are not synced to any server. A stamp is a visual mark, not a cryptographic signature: for identity-bound signing you need a certificate-based digital signature. See the signing PDFs safely article for the distinction.

Summary

Pick a template or start blank, style it, place it precisely, choose your pages, save it and export. For simpler whole-document marking, the watermark guide is the quicker route.