How to Overlay One PDF on Another
Updated July 13, 2026
Sometimes you need one document drawn on top of another rather than appended after it — a company letterhead behind plain text, a decorative border on every page, or a signature layer over a contract.
Steps
- Add your base PDF — the document itself.
- Add the overlay PDF — the layer that gets drawn on top.
- Click Overlay, then download the combined file.
How the pages line up
Each page of the overlay file is stretched to match the corresponding page of the base file and drawn directly on top of it. If the overlay is shorter than the base — a one-page letterhead over a ten-page report, for instance — it repeats cyclically so every base page gets the same treatment. Because the overlay is opaque wherever it has content, it’s worth using a source file with transparent areas (a letterhead template with a clear middle, say) so the underlying text and images stay visible rather than getting covered.
Notes
Both files are combined locally, so nothing is uploaded at any point. If all you need is a simple text or image watermark rather than a full second PDF as the layer, Add Watermark is the more direct tool; for a single stamped mark like an approval seal, see Add Stamps.