Add Watermark to PDF

Mark what a document is for

A watermark is faint text or an image laid over a document. Use it to label a document (CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, COPY) or, when you hand over a copy of an ID or bank statement, to state its purpose — “For ABC Bank loan application only” — which makes the copy much harder to misuse elsewhere. This tool adds a text or image watermark to all pages or selected pages and saves a new PDF.

Placement

• Diagonal across the center — big text across the middle of the page; the classic CONFIDENTIAL or COPY stamp.
• Tiled — smaller text repeated diagonally over the whole page. Cropping can't remove it, which makes it ideal for ID copies. Use a size of 20–30 pt.
• Center (horizontal) / Bottom — a quieter mark that covers less of the content.

Text or image

The font is embedded in the PDF, so the watermark looks the same on every computer. For image watermarks, a PNG logo with a transparent background looks cleanest — don't use other organizations' logos. Around 20% opacity keeps the content readable while the mark stays obvious. The preview shows the first page.

The watermark is drawn on top of the original page, so text stays selectable and quality is unchanged. PDFs with editing restrictions are converted to images first. To make the watermark harder to remove, lock editing with Password Protect PDF. For photos, use Watermark Photos.

Enter a page range to watermark only those pages; leave it empty for all. To skip the cover page, enter 2-.