How to redact a PDF
Most "redaction" is a black rectangle drawn over words that are still sitting in the file. Copy the page into any text editor, or open it with any PDF library, and the name you thought you removed comes straight back out. This is how law firms, councils and newspapers have all leaked documents they believed were redacted. Redacting properly means deleting the text itself, and then checking the file you produced. PDF Verified does both, in your browser, without uploading the document anywhere.
Drop your document here and sign it now. PDF, Word and Excel all work: a .docx or .xlsx is laid out in your browser exactly as it was written, so there is nothing to convert first. Add a signature, a date, a company stamp or a watermark, then download it sealed. Free to start, no account, and the file is never uploaded to open it.
How to redact a PDF, step by step
- Open the PDF in the editor, Go to the Edit & Redact tool and drop your file in. It is read inside your browser tab, so a document you are redacting because it is sensitive never travels anywhere.
- Drag a box over what has to go, Switch to Redact and drag across the words. Every line of text inside the box is deleted from the file. Choose whether the gap is left blank or covered with a black bar, the bar is now decoration rather than the redaction itself.
- Download it and read the check, The file is rebuilt, then re-opened and searched in the areas you cleared. The status line reports how many text operators were deleted and whether anything survived, so you leave with a result rather than a promise.
What you get
- The text is removed from the content stream, not hidden behind a shape.
- The exported file is re-parsed and the cleared areas searched, and the finding is shown to you.
- Text nested inside Form XObjects is followed down, where a page-level pass would miss it entirely.
- Layout does not shift: each removed run is replaced by a jump of exactly its own width.
- Runs in your browser, so a confidential document is never uploaded to anyone.
Frequently asked questions
Why is drawing a black box over text not enough?
Because the text is still in the file underneath it. A rectangle is just another drawing instruction; it does not remove anything. Select the page and copy it, and the covered words are in your clipboard. Real redaction deletes the text operators themselves.
How do I know the words are actually gone?
The editor re-opens the file it has just produced, extracts the text again, and searches the areas you redacted, then tells you what it found. You can repeat the test yourself: open the downloaded file and try to select or search for the words.
Does removing text move everything else around?
No. Each deleted run is replaced by a horizontal jump exactly as wide as the text it removed, so the rest of the line stays where it was and the page still looks right.
Can I redact a scanned document?
A scan is an image, so there are no words to delete, only pixels. Cover the area and flatten the result, or run OCR first and understand that you are then redacting the OCR text layer rather than the picture beneath it.
Is my document uploaded to a server?
No. Everything happens inside your browser tab. For sensitive material that is the whole point: there is no copy on anybody else’s machine and no third party to trust with it.
Is it free?
Redacting and previewing are free with no account. Downloading the finished file needs an account, and every plan, including the free tier, includes the editor in full with unlimited files.
Does redacting break a signature on the document?
Yes, and it should. Any change to a signed PDF invalidates the cryptographic signature, because the signature covers the bytes that changed. Redact first, then sign, or re-sign the redacted copy.