A scanned PDF is basically a photo of a page. That's why clicking on it doesn't give you a cursor: there's no text or form field there, just an image.
If you only need to fill in the blanks, you don't have to convert anything. You can type right on top of the scan.
Steps
- Open your scanned PDF in Type PDF with Choose PDF.
- If a page is sideways, rotate it upright.
- Zoom in so you can see the blank space clearly.
- Click where your answer goes and type.
- Adjust the size and position, then download.
The scanned page stays exactly as it is underneath your text.
Do I need OCR?
Not for this. OCR (optical character recognition) turns the words in an image into real text you can search or copy. That's useful if you need to edit or extract the original wording, but you don't need it just to add your own answers.
A few limits
- Blurry scans stay blurry. Zooming helps you place text, but it won't make the page easier to read. If you can't make out the questions, ask for a cleaner copy.
- It has to be a PDF. If you have a photo of the document, save or export it as a PDF first.
After downloading, check every page to make sure your answers line up with the blanks on the scan.
For more on placing text, read how to fill out a non-fillable PDF.