How to combine a CV and supporting documents into one PDF

Checked against our tools on 19 October 2026

Save your CV as a PDF from Word or Google Docs, then add it to Merge PDF along with your certificates, CV first. Merge PDF takes PDFs and photos together, so photographed certificates don't need converting first. Before you start, check the application form: if it has a separate upload box for each document, use them, and don't merge at all.

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First, check whether you should combine them

Many job sites read the file you put in the CV box to fill in your name, work history and skills automatically; Workday, for one, offers to autofill the application from your uploaded résumé. If that file also holds six pages of transcripts, the extra pages can end up in the wrong fields, and a recruiter skimming the CV sees certificates where they expected your experience. When the form has separate boxes for a CV, a cover letter and other documents, upload each one where it's asked for.

Combine them when the form has a single upload box, when an email application asks for one attachment, or when the instructions say "one PDF".

1. Turn your CV into a PDF

Save it from the program you wrote it in, which keeps your fonts and layout exactly as you set them:

Word on Windows: File, Save As, then choose PDF as the file type.
Word on a Mac: File, Save As, then set File Format to PDF.
Google Docs: File, Download, PDF Document.
Pages: File, Export To, PDF.

If you only have the .docx file

Use Word to PDF. It converts on our server with LibreOffice, so it uploads the file and deletes it automatically about 60 minutes later. Most CVs come out looking the same, but if your CV uses a font our server doesn't have, a similar one is used and a line can move onto the next page. Check the PDF before you send it.

Don't print the CV and photograph it. A photographed CV is a picture of text, which the automatic reading on job sites can't use.

2. Get your certificates ready

If your certificates are already PDFs or photos, you're ready. If they're on paper, a scanner gives the cleanest result, and your phone's document scanner is the next best thing: on an iPhone, open the Files app, tap the three-dot button and choose Scan Documents; on Android, tap the + button in the Google Drive app and choose Scan. Both save a PDF directly.

Ordinary photos work too, including iPhone HEIC photos. Photograph each document flat, in daylight, with the page filling the frame.

3. Merge them in the right order

Open Merge PDF, add your CV and the certificates, as PDFs or photos, and drag the cards into order. If a photo is sideways, tap the rotate button on its card. Each photo becomes an A4 page with a 10 mm margin. Merge PDF runs in your browser, so the photos of your ID or degree aren't uploaded. The usual order is:

Cover letter, if the instructions want it in the same file.
CV.
Supporting documents, in the order the job ad or form lists them. If it doesn't list them, put the most recent qualification first.

4. Name it and check the size

The merged file is named after the first file with -merged on the end. Rename it so it's obvious whose it is, such as Priya-Sharma-CV-and-certificates.pdf.

Then compare its size with the form's limit. Photographed certificates are usually what makes the file large. If it's over, run it through Compress PDF at Medium: typed text in your CV is never re-encoded, so it stays sharp, while the photos shrink. In our tests a 3-page office scan went from 2.42 MB to 533 KB at Medium. If it's still over, our guide on why a compressed PDF is still too large covers the next steps.

After merging, Merge PDF shows every page of the result, numbered. Look through it before you download: check every page is the right way up and that nothing personal is included by accident, like the back of a driving licence. If the order is wrong, select Change the order.

Common questions

Is it free? Yes. Without an account, Merge PDF takes up to 5 files of up to 25 MB each. Word to PDF and Compress PDF run on our server and share an allowance of 2 files a day, so converting a CV and compressing the result uses both. A free account raises those to 10 files, 50 MB and 10 server files a day.

Can I add page numbers? Yes. Add page numbers runs on the merged file in your browser. It helps when the form asks you to refer to documents by page.

Can I change the order after downloading? Yes. Reorder pages lets you drag individual pages, so you don't need to merge again.