PDF Form Filler

Programmatically fill PDF forms with text values and checkboxes. Uses pdfrw to set form field values while preserving appearance streams for proper PDF viewer rendering.

Quick Start

Fill a PDF form with a dictionary of field names and values:

from pdf_form_filler import fill_pdf_form
fill_pdf_form(
input_pdf="form.pdf",
output_pdf="form_filled.pdf",
data={
"Name": "John Doe",
"Email": "john@example.com",
"Herr": True,  # Checkbox
"Dienstreise": True,
}
)

Features

Text fields: Set any text value (names, dates, addresses, etc.)
Checkboxes: Set boolean values (True for checked, False/None for unchecked)
Appearance states: Properly sets
```
/On
```
and
```
/Off
```
states for PDF viewer rendering
Preserves structure: Doesn't strip form functionality—can be further edited
No dependencies: Uses pdfrw (lightweight, pure Python)

How It Works

Opens the PDF template
Iterates through form fields
Sets values for matching field names
Handles checkboxes by setting both
```
/V
```
(value) and
```
/AS
```
(appearance state)
Saves the filled PDF

Field Name Matching

Field names should match exactly as they appear in the PDF form. Common patterns:

German forms:
```
Herr
```
,
```
Frau
```
,
```
Dienstreise
```
,
```
Geschäftsnummer LfF
```
English forms:
```
Full Name
```
,
```
Email
```
,
```
Agree
```
,
```
Submit
```
Date fields:
```
Date
```
,
```
DOB
```
,
```
Start Date
```

To discover field names in your PDF, use

list_pdf_fields()

from pdf_form_filler import list_pdf_fields
fields = list_pdf_fields("form.pdf")
for field_name, field_type in fields:
print(f"{field_name}: {field_type}")

Field types:

```
text
```
: Text input field
```
checkbox
```
: Boolean checkbox
```
radio
```
: Radio button
```
dropdown
```
: Dropdown select
```
signature
```
: Signature field

Example: Job Application Form

fill_pdf_form(
    input_pdf="job_application.pdf",
    output_pdf="job_application_filled.pdf",
    data={
        "Full Name": "Jane Smith",
        "Email": "jane.smith@example.com",
        "Phone": "555-1234",
        "Position": "Software Engineer",
        "Years Experience": "5",
    # Checkboxes
    &quot;Willing to relocate&quot;: True,
    &quot;Available immediately&quot;: False,
    &quot;Background check consent&quot;: True,
}

)

Advanced Usage

Partial fills

Only fill specific fields, leave others blank:

data = {"Name": "Jane Doe"}  # Only Name is set
fill_pdf_form("form.pdf", "form_filled.pdf", data)

Dynamic field detection

Get all fields and prompt for values:

from pdf_form_filler import list_pdf_fields
fields = list_pdf_fields("form.pdf")
data = {}
for field_name, field_type in fields:
if field_type == "text":
data[field_name] = input(f"Enter {field_name}: ")
elif field_type == "checkbox":
data[field_name] = input(f"Check {field_name}? (y/n): ").lower() == 'y'
fill_pdf_form("form.pdf", "form_filled.pdf", data)

Batch fills

Fill multiple PDFs with the same data:

import os
from pdf_form_filler import fill_pdf_form
data = {"Name": "John Doe", "Date": "2026-01-24"}
for filename in os.listdir("forms/"):
if filename.endswith(".pdf"):
fill_pdf_form(
f"forms/{filename}",
f"forms_filled/{filename}",
data
)

Troubleshooting

Checkboxes not showing visually

Some PDF viewers don't render checkboxes immediately. The value is set correctly (

/On

/Off

), but appearance isn't regenerated. Try opening in:

Adobe Reader (will render automatically)
Firefox (has better form support)
evince or okular on Linux (usually works)

Field names not found

Use

list_pdf_fields()

to confirm exact field names. PDF forms can be tricky:

Some use unusual names (e.g.,
```
Field_1
```
instead of descriptive names)
Some have nested field structures

Text appears cut off

Some PDFs have narrow text fields. Either:

Use shorter values
Reduce font size in the PDF template itself
Manual editing after filling

Bundled Script

See

scripts/fill_pdf_form.py

for the full implementation using pdfrw.

Pdf Form Filler

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Be Part of the 0+ Developer Community

PDF Form Filler

Quick Start

Features

How It Works

Field Name Matching

Example: Job Application Form

Advanced Usage

Partial fills

Dynamic field detection

Batch fills

Troubleshooting

Checkboxes not showing visually

Field names not found

Text appears cut off

Bundled Script

Quick Start

Manual Installation

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