How to redact a PDF
These steps use the free PDF redaction tool. They work the same for typed PDFs, scans and exported forms, up to 60 pages per file.
Steps
- Open the PDF. Choose it or drag it onto the upload box. Pages appear in the preview, and scanned pages are read with OCR in your browser.
- Agree to the scan. The text is sent for AI detection only after you confirm. Decline and you can still mark everything by hand.
- Go through the Found list. Each finding is highlighted on its page. Untick anything that should stay, such as your own company name.
- Add what was missed. Select text and pick "Redact here" for one spot or "Redact everywhere" for every occurrence. Drag on the page to box out a signature, stamp or photo.
- Download. Leave "Check for anything left" ticked to have a second model read the result, then save the redacted copy.
What the download contains
Every page is rendered to an image with solid black bars burned in. Text, form fields, links, bookmarks, attachments and document properties are left out, so there is nothing to copy back out.
The trade-off is that the copy cannot be searched or edited as text. If the recipient needs searchable text, run OCR on the redacted copy afterwards: it can only read what is visible.
Tips
- Scans with handwriting or low contrast are harder for OCR. Zoom in and draw boxes over anything the list did not pick up.
- Add recurring names or case numbers under "Always redact" so they are caught on every page.
- Split files over 60 pages and redact each part.
- Company and public service contacts are found but start unticked. Tick "Redact company and public contacts" to remove them too.