How to Redact in Adobe Acrobat

To redact in Adobe Acrobat, open the PDF in Acrobat Pro, choose All tools → Redact a PDF, mark the text, images or pages to remove, then click Apply and save the result as a new file. Marking alone removes nothing; the content is deleted only when you apply. Run Sanitize document as well to strip metadata and hidden content, and check the saved file before you send it.

This guide walks through every part of the Acrobat Pro redaction tool, including search, page removal and redaction codes, then covers the mistakes that most often leave text behind.

Which Acrobat versions can redact?

If you only have Reader or Standard, either start an Acrobat Pro trial or use one of the options in How to redact a PDF without Adobe Acrobat.

Steps

1. 1

   Open the PDF in Acrobat Pro

   Redaction is an Acrobat Pro feature. The free Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Standard do not include it. Work on a copy so the original stays intact.

2. 2

   Open the Redact tool

   In current Acrobat, choose All tools, then Redact a PDF. In older versions the same tool is under Tools, then Redact. A redaction toolbar or panel opens.

3. 3

   Mark text, images or pages

   Choose Redact text & images, then select text with the cursor or drag a box over an image, signature or stamp. Use Redact pages to remove whole pages or a page range. Marks show as red outlines and nothing is removed yet.

4. 4

   Search for words and patterns

   Choose Find text & redact to search for a word, a list of words or a pattern such as phone numbers, email addresses or credit card numbers. Review the matches, tick the ones to remove and mark them all at once.

5. 5

   Apply the redactions

   Click Apply and confirm. Only now does Acrobat delete the marked content. When asked whether to remove hidden information, choose yes, or run Sanitize document afterwards.

6. 6

   Save as a new file and verify

   Save the redacted copy under a new name. Then search it for a redacted word and try to select text under the boxes, or open it in a redaction checker, before you share it.

The menu names above are from the current Acrobat interface. In older versions you will see Mark for Redaction, Apply Redactions and Find Text instead; the workflow is the same.

Redact whole pages

Some documents contain pages that should not be shared at all, such as an annex with account details or a signature page. In the Redact tool, choose Redact pages, then enter the page numbers or a range. Acrobat marks every item on those pages, and they become blank redacted pages once you apply. If you would rather drop the pages entirely, delete them with Organize pages before redacting.

Search for words and patterns

Find text & redact is the closest Acrobat gets to automatic redaction. It offers three search modes:

• Single word or phrase: a surname, a case number, a client name.
• Multiple words or phrases: paste or import a list, for example every person named in a contract.
• Patterns: phone numbers, email addresses, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and dates.

Acrobat lists every match with the surrounding text. Tick the ones that should go and mark them in one step. Two limits matter on long documents. The patterns are tuned to US formats, so a German IBAN or a UK National Insurance number will not match. And there is no detection of names or addresses, so anything not on your list is only found by reading the whole document. The guide on redacting text in a PDF shows how AI detection by data type closes that gap.

Change the box colour, overlay text and redaction codes

By default Acrobat draws black boxes. To change that, open Set properties in the Redact tool, or right-click an existing mark and choose Properties:

• Fill colour of the redacted area, for example white for forms that will be printed.
• Overlay text such as "Redacted" or "Confidential", with font, size and alignment.
• Redaction codes for legal work, including the US FOIA and Privacy Act exemption code sets, so each box shows the reason it was removed.

Set the properties before you mark items. Changing them later only affects new marks.

Apply, then remove hidden information

Clicking Apply is the step that deletes content. Acrobat then asks whether to find and remove hidden information. Say yes, or run Sanitize document from the Redact tool afterwards. Sanitizing removes metadata such as author and title, comments, file attachments, hidden layers, form data, bookmarks and scripts that can still reveal what the visible page no longer shows.

Acrobat usually proposes saving the result as a copy with "_Redacted" added to the file name. Accept that and keep the original separately, because a saved redaction cannot be reversed.

Redacting scanned PDFs in Acrobat

A scanned page is a picture, so search and pattern matching find nothing on it. Run Scan & OCR → Recognize text first, then use Find text & redact. Recent Acrobat versions may offer to run recognition when you start redacting a scan. Check the recognised text on a few pages: OCR errors mean a name spelled correctly in your search can still be missed. For more on this, see How to redact a scanned PDF.

Common mistakes in Acrobat

1. Saving without applying. Marked items are annotations. Anyone can delete the red outline, or copy the text beneath it.
2. Using Comment tools instead of Redact. A black rectangle or highlight from the Comment panel is a drawing on top of the text, not a redaction.
3. Skipping Sanitize. The visible page is clean but the title, author, an earlier comment or an attachment still names the client.
4. Searching for one spelling only. "Müller", "Mueller" and "MULLER" are three searches in Acrobat.
5. Forgetting non-text content. Signatures, stamps, logos and photos of IDs need boxes drawn by hand.
6. Overwriting the original. Once saved, nothing can be recovered, including content you removed by mistake.

When Acrobat is not enough

Acrobat Pro does real redaction, but you have to find every item yourself, it costs around 20 USD per month, and its patterns stop at a handful of US formats. If you redact names, addresses, medical or financial data in long documents, an AI tool that detects them for you is faster and less likely to miss one. The free PDF Redaction tool runs in the browser, detects names, addresses, ID numbers and other personal data, runs OCR on scans and removes metadata on export. See the full Adobe Acrobat comparison for features and pricing.

Quick summary

1. Open a copy of the PDF in Acrobat Pro and choose All tools → Redact a PDF.
2. Mark text, images and pages, and use Find text & redact for words and patterns.
3. Set the box colour, overlay text or redaction codes if you need them.
4. Click Apply, then remove hidden information or run Sanitize document.
5. Save as a new file and verify the redaction before sharing.