Is Your PDF Actually Redacted?
Most redaction tools just draw a black box. The text stays in the file. This tool checks if your redactions actually removed the data.
Your file never leaves your browser. No upload, no server, no exceptions.
Last updated: July 2, 2026
Understanding your results
- Content removed
- No text was detected beneath this annotation. Expected result for a properly applied redaction.
- Possible redaction
- No text detected, but the annotation is a drawn shape rather than a formal redaction mark. Review each one manually to confirm it covers the intended content.
- Redaction failed
- The original text is still in the PDF beneath this annotation. It can be selected, copied, or extracted. This document is not safe to produce or file.
- No annotations found
- The PDF contains no redaction annotations. Either the document was never redacted, or it was redacted using a full-depth tool with no annotation layer.
- Scanned page
- This page is image-based. The tool can only analyze text layers, not image content.
How the PDF Redaction Checker Works
Use this free PDF redaction checker to check pdf redaction quality and verify redaction actually removed the underlying text, not just covered it up.
Drop your PDF
Upload or drag your file into the checker. Nothing is sent anywhere; the file stays on your device.
Analysis runs locally
The tool scans every page for redaction annotations and tests whether readable text still exists underneath each one.
Get results per annotation
Each redaction mark is graded: content removed, possible redaction, redaction failed, or scanned page.
Why Most PDF Redactions Fail
When you draw a black box over text in a PDF, it looks redacted. But in most PDF tools (including basic Adobe Acrobat, Preview on Mac, and countless online tools), that black box is just an annotation layer. It sits on top of the original text, hiding it visually. The text itself is still in the file.
Anyone can recover “redacted” data from a document like this. Select the text behind the box. Copy and paste. Run a text extraction tool. Or simply view the file in a PDF reader that strips annotation layers. The data was never removed. It was just hidden.
Proper redaction works differently. The text is removed from the file at the byte level. Nothing is covered up. The content is deleted. After a real redaction, the data cannot be recovered because it no longer exists in the file. If this checker flags your PDF as failed, redact it properly with our free redaction tool and re-check the result.
Federal courts require this distinction. FRCP 5.2 mandates redaction of Social Security numbers, birth dates, financial account numbers, and minor children's names from public filings. A drawing-tool “redaction” does not satisfy that requirement.
Redaction Failures Make Headlines
Redaction failures aren't hypothetical. When the Department of Justice released files related to Jeffrey Epstein in 2025, journalists and researchers found that some of the black boxes covering names and identifying details could be selected, copied, and read: the same failure mode this checker is built to catch. When a redaction is applied as a visual annotation instead of a permanent removal, anyone with a PDF reader and a few minutes can recover the “hidden” text.
These failures don't stay quiet. Reporters, opposing counsel, and FOIA requesters routinely re-check produced documents, and a single exposed name in a supposedly redacted filing can undermine an entire case or agency's credibility. Running your PDF through a checker before you file or produce it costs nothing and takes seconds.
What FRCP 5.2 Requires You to Redact
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 mandates these redactions on every public federal court filing. Read the full breakdown in our FRCP 5.2 requirements guide.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does my file get uploaded anywhere?
No. The entire analysis runs inside your browser using JavaScript. Your PDF is never sent to a server, never stored, and never transmitted over the internet. You can test this by disconnecting from WiFi before dropping your file. The tool will still work.
What does "redaction failed" mean?
It means we found readable text underneath a black box or annotation in your PDF. The text is still in the file. Anyone who receives this document can extract it. You need to re-redact the document using a tool that permanently removes the text, not just draws over it.
My PDF has no annotations. Is that a problem?
It depends. If you redacted using a proper tool that removes text entirely from the file, there may be no annotation layer to detect, and that is fine. If you expected redactions but see "no annotations found," verify that your redaction tool actually processed the file.
Why can't you check scanned PDFs?
Scanned documents are images inside a PDF wrapper. There is no text layer to extract, just a photograph of a page. This tool analyzes the text layer. For scanned documents, you would need OCR-based analysis to read and then check the content.
This tool says my redaction passed. Is it safe to produce?
Passing this check is a good sign, but it is not a legal certification. This tool checks for the most common redaction failure: exposed text beneath annotation layers. Have an attorney review any sensitive production before disclosure.
What is FRCP 5.2?
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 requires parties to redact specific personal identifiers from documents filed with federal courts. The required redactions are: Social Security numbers (last 4 only), taxpayer ID numbers (last 4 only), full dates of birth (year only), names of minor children (initials only), and financial account numbers (last 4 only).