How to remove digital signatures from a PDF

<p data-end=”567″ data-start=”322″>As organizations digitize contracts, approvals and internal documentation, digital signatures have become a standard part of enterprise document workflows. These signatures help verify document integrity and confirm the identity of the signer.</p>
<p data-end=”985″ data-start=”574″>Organizations can use authenticated digital signatures — those certified by a certificate authority (<a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/certificate-authority”>CA</a>) — or nonauthenticated signatures to create legally binding agreements. However, users might sometimes need to remove or redact a signature, for example when a document requires revision, when a signature was added in error or when sensitive information must be removed before sharing a file externally.</p>
<p data-end=”1130″ data-start=”992″>The exact process for removing a digital signature depends on the PDF software used and whether the document has been locked or certified.</p>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”How to remove digital signatures using Adobe”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>How to remove digital signatures using Adobe</h2>
<p>Adobe software offers users a relatively straightforward way to remove digital signatures from PDFs. However, the process only works under the following conditions:</p>
<ul class=”default-list”>
<li>The person deleting the signature is the only signer.</li>
<li>The signer didn’t lock the file when saving it.</li>
</ul>
<p>If these conditions apply, users can take the following steps to remove their signatures:</p>
<ol class=”default-list”>
<li>Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.</li>
<li>Navigate to the <b>Edit</b> tab.</li>
<li>Select the signature with <b>Control-Click</b> on Windows or <b>Command-Click</b> on macOS.</li>
<li>Select <b>Delete</b> or <b>Clear Signature</b> from the context menu.</li>
</ol>
<figure class=”main-article-image full-col” data-img-fullsize=”https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/adobe_acrobat_1-f.jpg”>
<img data-src=”https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/adobe_acrobat_1-f_mobile.jpg” class=”lazy” data-srcset=”https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/adobe_acrobat_1-f_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/adobe_acrobat_1-f.jpg 1280w” alt=”A screenshot from Adobe Acrobat that shows how to delete a digital signature” data-credit=”Jordan Jones” height=”158″ width=”560″>
<figcaption>
<i class=”icon pictures” data-icon=”z”></i>Adobe users can select a signature and use the context menu to delete it.
</figcaption>
<div class=”main-article-image-enlarge”>
<i class=”icon” data-icon=”w”></i>
</div>
</figure>
<p>This process does not invalidate digital certificates — which CAs issue to <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/answer/Which-private-keys-and-public-keys-can-create-a-digital-signature”>verify a digital signature’s integrity</a> — because Acrobat only places these certificates into documents after users sign and save them in a noneditable format.</p>
<p>If users need to remove a digital signature after Adobe embedded a digital certificate in the document, they must go to the original, unsigned source document and restart the signing process. Digital certificates prove that nobody altered a document after someone signed it, so if someone removes a signature afterward, the certificate becomes invalid.</p>
<div class=”extra-info”>
<div class=”extra-info-inner”>
<h3 class=”splash-heading”>You can remove a digital signature from a PDF if:</h3>
<ul data-end=”859″ data-start=”699″ class=”default-list”>
<li data-end=”731″ data-start=”699″> <p data-end=”731″ data-start=”701″>You are the original signer.</p> </li>
<li data-end=”783″ data-start=”732″> <p data-end=”783″ data-start=”734″>The document has not been locked after signing.</p> </li>
<li data-end=”859″ data-start=”784″> <p data-end=”859″ data-start=”786″>The file does not contain multiple signatures or a finalized certificate.</p> </li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<ul data-end=”859″ data-start=”699″ class=”default-list”></ul>
</section>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”How to remove digital signatures using Preview on macOS”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>How to remove digital signatures using Preview on macOS</h2>
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