The signature field on a fake ID order is optional, but if you send one, the rules are exact for a reason. The signature is applied to the card, so a bad pen, a lined page or a tilted phone photo becomes a bad card. The quick version is one line: black Sharpie Fine Point, plain white paper, sign your full name about 5 cm wide, phone flat above the paper, daylight.
The pen, where most rejections happen
Use a Sharpie Fine Point, which is the regular black Sharpie with the round tip. That is the only pen that produces the thick, dark line the card needs. Do not use a chisel-tip marker, a ballpoint, a gel pen, a fineliner or a highlighter. The wrong pen is the most common reason a signature file gets sent back.
The paper
Use plain white printer paper, blank, letter-size or A4. The page has to be uniform white with nothing else on it. Lined notebook paper, receipt paper and coloured paper all fail, because the background becomes part of the card image instead of the signature alone.
The signature itself
Sign your full name the way you would sign a credit-card receipt: about 5 to 6 cm wide, with readable letters, in the middle of the page. Do not sign too small, do not scribble a squiggle, do not use initials only, and do not trace over the same line twice. The signature has to look like something a person wrote in one motion, because that is what a real card carries.
Photographing the paper
Hold the phone directly above the paper, flat and not tilted, with the page filling most of the frame. Shoot in good daylight or under a bright lamp, with no hand shadow across the signature. Check that the focus is sharp, because a signature that looks blurry on your screen will look blurry on the card. The same photo discipline is covered in the photo tips guide.
What gets auto-rejected
Some files never make it to production, and the list is short. A photo of your phone screen fails, because the paper itself has to be photographed. Paper on your lap or a blanket fails, because the page must lie flat on a table. Tilted, skewed or cropped frames fail, and so do blurry, dark or shadowed shots. Anything that is not black Sharpie fails on the pen rule alone.
Why you can skip all of this
The signature is optional, and leaving it blank is a completely valid choice. If you send nothing, a clean signature is generated for you, so the field never blocks an order. If you do send one, attach it to the rest of the form exactly as the order form walkthrough describes, then start your order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I skip sending a signature?
Yes. The signature field is optional. Leave it blank and a clean signature is generated for you, so nothing about the order depends on your handwriting.
What pen should I use for the signature?
A black Sharpie Fine Point, the regular round-tip Sharpie. Chisel-tip markers, ballpoints, gel pens, fineliners and highlighters are all rejected.
What paper is best for the signature?
Plain white printer paper, blank, letter-size or A4. Lined, receipt and coloured paper are not accepted because the background must stay pure white.
How big should the signature be?
About 5 to 6 cm wide, like a credit-card receipt signature, with readable letters in the middle of the page. Too small, initials or a scribble get rejected.
Why does a signature get rejected?
Most rejections are the pen. After that come lined or coloured paper, a photo of a phone screen, a tilted frame, and blurry or shadowed shots.
Do I photograph the paper or a screen?
The paper itself. Photograph the page flat on a table with the phone directly above it. A photo of your phone screen is auto-rejected.
