6 steps to redact sensitive information easily with Adobe Acrobat Pro

Jeffrey Schoenberger is a senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

The Supreme Court of Missouri entered an order Dec. 16, 2025, that, in part, simplified redaction instructions and enhanced the process for correcting redaction. As you review your redaction process, remember Adobe Acrobat Pro has a built-in redaction tool you can use to help protect your clients’ sensitive information. 

Whether you’ve used Acrobat for a while or are just getting started, here is the six-step process to most effectively use its tools to remove not only text, but AI metadata.

1. Open the PDF you want to redact in Adobe Acrobat Pro 
 

2. Activate the redaction tool 

a. Go to the “All tools” pane on the left (or select “All tools” from the top menu bar). 

b. Scroll down and locate the “Redact a PDF” tool, then click it. If you don’t see “Redact a PDF,” you may need to click the blue “View more” link at the bottom to see the option. Alternatively, you can click the magnifying glass on the top right of the toolbar and search for “Redact,” then click “Redact text and images.” 

c. A new “Redact a PDF” pane will open on the left-hand side.

3. Mark content for redaction

Acrobat lets you redact text and images in three ways. You can select text or images piecemeal, you can redact entire pages, or you can have Acrobat search your document for words or phrases (e.g., social security numbers, account numbers, children’s names) and mark those for redaction. Note that the third option, called “Find text and redact,” only works in PDFs with optical character recognition, meaning you can search and copy and paste text in the PDFs. 

For this example, we’ll do “Redact text and images.”

a. Click the “Redact text and images” button in the “Redact a PDF” pane. 

b. Use your mouse to select text or images you want to redact. For text, click and drag to highlight what you want to redact. For images, click directly on the image or area. Your selection should be surrounded by a red border. Hovering over it should turn the text or image solid black.

4. Preview and apply the redactions 

a. Once you’ve marked all areas, click “Apply” at the bottom right of the “Redact a PDF” pane. 

b. A prompt will ask if you’re certain you want to permanently redact the content. You also will have a toggle switch to “Sanitize and remove hidden information.” It’s generally recommended to enable “Sanitize and remove hidden information,” since it now removes embedded AI-generated metadata that may not be visible but could contain sensitive prompts or summaries. By toggling this switch on, in addition to performing your redactions, Acrobat will search your document for metadata (e.g., comments, bookmarks, attachments, form fields, and AI content) and remove it. 

c. Click “Continue.”

5. Save the redacted PDF

Acrobat will prompt you to save a copy of the document with a file suffix of “Redacted.” Navigate to your preferred saving location and click “Save.” 

Acrobat will also ask you to save a second copy, because redactions are permanent and irreversible. You now have two PDF documents: the original with all sensitive information intact; and the redacted one, with sensitive information removed, suitable for filing or distribution.

6. Review the document to ensure all sensitive content is correctly redacted 

Properly redacting private information protects your clients, complies with confidentiality rules, and guards against sanctions or malpractice claims. Many firms now add redaction checks to their internal audit trail. Schedule in time to double-check your work — and Acrobat’s.

Conclusion 

With these steps in Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can securely remove confidential content and protect your clients’ information. If you have questions, Adobe provides a redaction guide on its website. 
To help you even better serve your clients, access no-cost comparison charts, white papers, checklists, and more at MoBar.org/LPM.