Add a DRAFT Watermark to a PDF

the classic diagonal DRAFT stamp · every page · adjust or swap the word · batch

Stamp DRAFT diagonally across every page of a PDF — the faint gray, 45° overlay everyone recognizes as "not final yet." The tool opens preset to exactly that look; drop a file in and download. Want DRAFT COPY, CONFIDENTIAL, or SAMPLE instead? Change one word. Everything runs in your browser — the file never leaves your machine.

What "DRAFT watermark" usually means

When people ask how to add a draft watermark to a PDF, they almost always mean one specific thing: the word DRAFT set large, light gray, semi-transparent, and rotated roughly 45° so it runs corner-to-corner behind the text. It signals "this is a working version" without obscuring the content underneath. That's the default here — font size 72, opacity 0.22, rotation 45°, centered — so for the common case you don't touch a single setting. The sliders are there only if you want to nudge it.

Step by step

1. Drop your PDF (or several — the stamp is applied to each). A preview of page 1 appears so you can see the placement.
2. Leave the text as DRAFT, or type DRAFT COPY, CONFIDENTIAL, SAMPLE, or anything else. Short words read best across the diagonal.
3. Adjust only if needed. Darker stamp → raise opacity toward 0.35. Bigger → raise font size. A shallower angle → drop rotation to ~30°.
4. Click "Stamp DRAFT & download." Each file comes back with the watermark baked onto every page.

Other stamps this covers

• DRAFT COPY — for documents circulated for comment; the two-word version wants a slightly smaller font so it fits the diagonal.
• CONFIDENTIAL — a visual reminder on sensitive material. (A reminder only — see below.)
• SAMPLE / SPECIMEN — for template documents and examples that shouldn't be mistaken for the real thing.
• NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, PRELIMINARY, FOR REVIEW — any status label works; keep it short.

A watermark is a label, not a lock

The DRAFT stamp is a visual marker painted onto the page — anyone with a desktop PDF editor can remove or cover it, and it does not encrypt or restrict the file. If you need the document itself protected, that's a different job: password-protect it, or redact the parts that must not be read. Use the watermark for what it's good at — telling a reader, at a glance, that they're holding a draft.

FAQ