How to Change a Name in a PDF (Fix a Spelling, Date or Number)

October 19, 2026 · 5 min read

"Rohit" typed as "Rohti". "Sharma" as "Sarma". A rent receipt with last month's date, or an invoice with one digit wrong. These small mistakes are common in letters, receipts, invoices and forms you made yourself — and you usually don't have the original Word file any more. Here is how to change a name, date or number in a PDF so it looks exactly like the rest of the document.

Use this only for your own documents. Fixing a typo in a letter, receipt, invoice or form you created is fine. Changing a name, date or number on a government ID, certificate, marksheet, bank statement or anyone else's document is forgery and is illegal. To correct an official document, ask the issuer — for example, Aadhaar details are updated through UIDAI, and a certificate is re-issued by the school, university or office that issued it.

Change a name in 4 steps

Open DocuSmartly Edit PDF and choose your PDF.
Double-click the name (on a phone, double-tap).
The line opens in a text box in the same size and colour. Fix the spelling — delete or add letters.
Click outside the box, then Download → PDF.

Fix the spelling, keep the look.

Change the Name — Free

Change a date

Double-click the date and change only the part that is wrong — the day, the month or the year. If you prefer, drag Whiteout over just that part and type the new value in the box Smart Replace gives you. If the date appears on several pages (a header or footer, say), repeat it on each page; for a header or footer you created in the editor, use Header and the {date} field instead.

Change a number or amount

For amounts, whiteout the digits only. Keeping "Rs" and the words around it untouched makes the change invisible. Double-check any total that depends on the number you changed — the editor changes text, it doesn't recalculate.

Make the new text match

Size: Smart Replace copies the original size. If it looks a little off, nudge it with the Size list.
Font: pick Serif for documents in Times-style fonts, Sans for Arial or Helvetica-style.
Position: drag the text box so it sits on the same line as the words around it. Zoom in to check.
Bold names: press B if the original name was bold.

Typing a Hindi name

You can type Hindi with your phone's or computer's Hindi keyboard; choose the Hindi (Devanagari) font for the best look. Smart Replace copies existing text best from PDFs with standard Unicode text. Older Kruti Dev PDFs and scans can't be copied, so type the new name on top of the whiteout box.

Change a name in many places

If the name appears in text you added (text boxes or a table), use Replace in the toolbar to change every copy at once. For the original printed text, whiteout each occurrence.

What the downloaded file looks like

The page stays sharp and the file stays about the same size — it is not turned into a picture. The old name is taken out of the file and the corrected name goes in its place. If you need the whole document editable afterwards, choose Word (.docx) when you download.

A one-minute fix for a spelling mistake.

Open Edit PDF

Frequently asked questions

How can I change a name in a PDF for free?

Open DocuSmartly Edit PDF, double-click the name, fix the spelling in the text box that opens, and download the PDF. It is free and needs no sign-up.

How do I change the date in a PDF?

Double-click the date, change the wrong part, and download as PDF.

Will the new name look the same as the old one?

Smart Replace copies the original size and position. Pick a matching font (Serif or Sans) and bold if needed, and the change blends in.

Can I change the name on my Aadhaar, PAN or a certificate?

No. Changing official or someone else's documents is forgery and illegal. Ask the issuing authority for a correction, such as UIDAI for Aadhaar.

Is my file uploaded?

No. Editing and the PDF download happen in your browser. Only the optional Word download sends the edited PDF to our server, where it is deleted right after conversion.