How to Add Tick Marks in Adobe Acrobat (Free)

Tick marks are the shorthand of review: a small symbol beside a figure that says you footed it, agreed it to the ledger or traced it to support. On paper you made them with a red pen. On a PDF workpaper you need a tool that can place them quickly and keep them in the file. Here are two ways to do it in Adobe Acrobat without paying for anything extra.

Option 1: Turn Acrobat’s stamps into tick marks

Adobe Acrobat Standard and Pro let you create custom stamps, and a stamp can be any small image, including a tick mark.

1. Make a small image of each mark you use, such as a check mark, a circled F for footed, or TB for traced to trial balance. A transparent PNG or a one-line PDF works well.
2. In Acrobat, open the stamp tool (in recent versions, search the tools list for Stamp) and choose Custom Stamps › Create.
3. Import your image, put it in a category such as “Tick marks” and give it a name.
4. To place a mark, choose it from the stamp menu and click on the page. Resize it once, then reuse that size.

Good for: the occasional review, or a firm that uses three or four marks. Watch out for: there is no sign-off block, no calculator tape and no quick way to switch between marks, so a full return takes a lot of clicking.

Option 2: Install a free tick-mark plug-in

The Debits plug-in for Adobe Acrobat adds a review panel with everything ready to go. It is free, with no account.

1. Download the installer for Windows, close Acrobat and run it.
2. Open a PDF in Acrobat. The Debits panel opens on Review.
3. Pick a tick mark and click where it goes. The mark stays selected, so you can tick down a whole column one click at a time.

The panel includes 40 tick marks in three groups: standard symbols, tax and audit codes (F, XF, T, A, R, V, PY, TB, GL and more), and review flags such as ?, ! and arrows. It also has 10 named workpaper stamps, such as Footed, Agreed, Recomputed and Prepared by client, and you can add up to 24 custom marks of your own. Alongside the marks you get preparer, reviewer, manager and partner sign-offs, a calculator tape, highlights and notes, bookmarks and cross-reference links.

Make tick marks that anyone can see

Whichever method you use, save marks as PDF annotations rather than flattening them into the page. Annotations stay editable, and they show in any PDF viewer, including Adobe Reader, so a partner or client without your tools still sees the review.

Keep a legend

A tick mark only means something if everyone reads it the same way. Put your firm’s legend on the first page of each binder, or use stamps with the meaning written out, such as “Footed” or “Agreed”, so there is nothing to decode. If you need a starting point, see our guide to common tick marks in accounting.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add tick marks in Adobe Reader?

Adobe Reader can display tick marks saved as annotations, but adding them with custom stamps or a plug-in needs Adobe Acrobat Standard or Pro.

Is there a free tick mark plug-in for Acrobat?

Yes. The Debits plug-in adds 40 tick marks, 10 workpaper stamps, sign-offs and a calculator tape to Acrobat on Windows, free and with no account.

Will tick marks print?

Yes. Marks saved as annotations print with the page by default in Acrobat.