Flatten fillable PDF form — lock in your answers
Flatten a filled-in PDF form so the values become permanent and recipients can't edit them. Required for many submissions.
You filled in a PDF form. Now you need to send it where it can't be edited. Flattening rasterizes the field values into the page content and removes the form metadata — your answers are permanent.
This is what most government and HR systems implicitly expect when they say 'submit the completed PDF': not the still-fillable version, but a locked one.
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Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between filled-but-not-flattened and flattened?
A filled-but-not-flattened PDF has the values stored in form-field metadata that any recipient can edit. A flattened PDF has the values rasterized into the visible page; the form metadata is removed. The visible appearance is identical; the editability is not.
Can I flatten a partially filled form?
Yes — only the fields with values get baked in. Empty fields disappear (no longer present as fields).
Why is this often required for submission?
Receivers want to know what you typed when you submitted, not what someone might re-type later. A flattened PDF is a frozen record of what you sent.