How to Redact PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Pro

Not all information is appropriate for general consumption. So, this tutorial shows how to redact PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Specifically, we’re going to cover five tasks:

How to redact text and images (basic method)
How to repeat redactions across multiple pages
How to redact entire pages
How to find and redact text
How to customize the appearance of redactions

Plus, the bonus section at the end explains how to sanitize specific metadata and other items from your PDF.

Warning: The redaction processes shown here are permanent. You cannot remove redactions or undo the sanitation process after they have been applied. Therefore, you should perform these steps on a secondary copy of your PDF, not on the original.

The images below are from Adobe Acrobat Pro. The steps are the same in Acrobat Pro 2017 and Acrobat Pro 2020.

The redaction tool is not available in Acrobat Standard DC, Acrobat Standard 2017, Acrobat Standard 2020, or in Adobe’s free PDF software, Acrobat Reader.

This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 200 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

Friendly Reminder: No technology is perfect. Therefore, you should always review the accuracy of your redactions before sharing your PDF with others.

How to Redact Text and Images in PDFs — Basic Method

This is the basic method for redacting text and images. Due to the complexity of Adobe Acrobat’s redaction tool, this tutorial can’t cover every option but will instead focus on the options most readers will need.

Select the Tools tab.

Tools tab in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 1. Tools tab

Select the Redact button in the Tools Center.

Redact button in the Tools Center of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 2. Redact button

Select the text or image you want to redact. A red border will appear around your selection.

The sentence "I am going to redact this sentence" selected for redaction in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 3. Text selected for redaction

Pro Tip: Hover your cursor over the selection to see a preview of the redaction.

Select the Apply button in the Redact toolbar.

Apply redaction button in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 4. Apply button

Toggle the button on (blue) or off (gray) for the Sanitize and remove hidden information option in the Apply Redactions dialog box.

Hidden information includes but is not limited to the following items:

- Attached files
- Links
- Bookmarks
- Comments and markups
- Metadata (e.g., author’s name)
- Digital signatures

Important Note: If you want to choose which items are sanitized, toggle this option off now and use the Sanitize Document tool later, as shown in the bonus section at the end of this tutorial.

"Sanitize and remove hidden information" option in the Apply Redactions dialog box in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 5. “Sanitize and remove hidden information” option

Select the OK button.

OK button in the Apply Redactions dialog box in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 6. Apply Redactions OK button

Select a location to save your file in the Save As PDF dialog box. Note that you may not see this dialog box if you are saving an existing file.

Adobe Acrobat Pro Save As PDF dialog box — Figure 7. Adobe Acrobat Save As PDF dialog box

(PC Users) Note that _Redacted has been added to your file name in the Windows Save As PDF dialog box.

"_Redacted" added to file name in the Windows Save As PDF dialog box — Figure 8. File name with “_Redacted”

(PC Users) Select the Save button in the Windows Save As PDF dialog box.

Save button in the Windows Save As PDF dialog box — Figure 9. Save button

Now that we’ve covered the basic method of redaction, let’s look at several advanced methods.

How to Repeat Redactions across Multiple Pages in PDFs

You can redact text or images in the same location, such as a header or footer, on multiple pages. Note that this option will not redact the selected text or images in other locations on other pages. See “How to Find and Redact Text” below to learn how to find specific text for redaction.

Select the Tools tab (see figure 1).
Select the Redact button in the Tools Center (see figure 2).
Select the text or image you want to redact (see figure 3).
Right-click the selection and select Repeat mark across pages from the shortcut menu. (Note that the selection will turn black or another chosen fill color when you right-click.)

"Repeat mark across pages" option in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 10. “Repeat mark across pages” option

Select specific pages from the Repeat Redaction Mark dialog box:

- All pages
- Odd pages
- Even pages
- Specific page range entered into the text box

Repeat Redaction Mark Across dialog box in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 11. Repeat Redaction Mark Across options

Select the OK button.

OK button in the Repeat Redaction Mark Across dialog box in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 12. Repeat Redaction Mark Across OK button

Select the Apply button in the Redact toolbar (see figure 4).
Follow steps 5 through 9 in “How to Redact Text and Images in PDFs” above to complete your page redaction.

How to Redact Entire Pages in PDFs

Select the Tools tab (see figure 1).
Select the Redact button in the Tools Center (see figure 2).
Select the arrow to the right of the Redact Text & Images button.

Redact Text & Images menu arrow in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 13. Redact Text & Images menu arrow

Select Redact Pages from the drop-down menu.

Redact Pages option in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 14. Redact Pages option

Choose your redaction option in the Mark Page Range dialog box:

- Mark current page for redaction allows you to mark the current page and additional pages for redaction.
- Mark specific page range for redaction allows you to enter individual pages (e.g., 5, 7, 9) or a page range (e.g., 10–20) into the text box.

Mark Page Range dialog box options in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 15. Mark Page Range options

Select the OK button.

OK button in the Mark Page Range dialog box in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 16. Mark Page Range OK button

(Optional Step) If you chose Mark current page for redaction, you can scroll to other pages and use the cursor to select additional pages.

A red box will appear around the selected page or pages.

Select the Apply button in the Redact toolbar (see figure 4).
Follow steps 5 through 9 in “How to Redact Text and Images in PDFs” above to complete your page redaction.

How to Find and Redact Text in PDFs

You can find specific words, phrases, or patterns to redact in individual PDFs or multiple PDFs within a folder.

Select the Tools tab (see figure 1).
Select the Redact button in the Tools Center (see figure 2).
Select the arrow to the right of the Redact Text & Images button (see figure 13).
Select Find Text & Redact from the drop-down menu.

Find Text & Redact option in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 17. Find Text & Redact option

Read the alert box warning you that images and line art are not searchable even if they look like text and then select the OK button.

Redaction alert box in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 18. Redaction alert box

Select the PDF or location to search in the Search panel.

"Where would you like to search" option in the Search panel in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 19. “Where would you like to search?” options

Select Single word or phrase or Multiple words or phrase and then enter your search term into the text box. (Alternatively, move to step 9 to choose Patterns.)

Word or phrase options in the Search panel in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 20. Word or phrase search options

(Optional Step) Select Whole words only and/or Case-Sensitive if you want to refine your search.

"Whole words only" and "Case-Sensitive" options in the Search panel in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 21. “Whole words only” and “Case-Sensitive” options

(Alternative Step) Select Patterns and then select an option from the menu:

- Phone numbers
- Credit cards
- Social security numbers
- Email addresses
- Dates

Patterns options in the Search panel in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 22. Patterns options

Select the Search & Remove Text button.

Search & Remove Text button in the Search panel in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 23. Search & Remove Text button

Select the results you want to redact.

Search results in the Search panel in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 24. Search results

Select the Mark Checked Results for Redaction button.

Mark Checked Results for Redaction button in the Search panel in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 25. Mark Checked Results for Redaction button

Select the X to close the Search panel.

Search panel closing X in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC — Figure 26. Closing X

Follow steps 5 through 9 in “How to Redact Text and Images in PDFs” above to complete your page redaction.

How to Customize the Appearance of Redactions in PDFs

Important Note: Complete these steps before creating your redactions. You can’t change the appearance of existing redactions.

Select the Tools tab (see figure 1).
Select the Redact button in the Tools Center (see figure 2).
Select the arrow to the right of the Redact Text & Images button (see figure 13).
Select Properties from the drop-down menu.