You want to remove your signature from a PDF.
You’re probably in one of the following situations:
Here’s the great news.
By the end of this article, you’ll leave with a PDF file that has its signature(s) removed.
To remove a digital signature from a PDF document, you have three options. First, you can try to cover the signature with a white layer added on top of the signature. Second, you can use online software. Lastly, you can use Adobe Acrobat's tools.
Now, let's check out all of these methods.
While this might not be the most “orthodox” method, it will surely be the fastest.
And it might be just what you need, if all you care about is the visual aspect.
In this method, we’ll simply apply a white box on top of the signature, so as to hide it.
Note: The signature is still there.
An electronic signature means more than just the visual aspect. An eSignature is also dictated by various factors (e.g. IP, unique stamp, etc).
Step 1: Google “Sejda pdf edit”. Click the first result.
You should see a page that looks like this.
Step 2: Upload your PDF file using the green button.
Step 3: Click the “whiteout” button, found on the top bar.
Step 4: Create a box that sits on top of the signature. Resize it so that it cover the signature.
Optionally, you might have to recreate the element upon which the signature was sitting (e.g. a dotted line, or a full line — check out the "shapes" tool in Sejda).
Step 5: Click apply changes.
And that’s it! You can now download your new PDF with a removed signature.
Note: as we mentioned before, the signature is not really removed. It’s just hidden. The data of the eSignature is there!
But if you simply want to print the PDF document or do anything else that simply involves not seeing the signature, this might be the fastest way for
You’ll want to use a PDF editing tool such as SodaPDF.
While there are other PDF editing tools that may allow this, we recommend this one.
NOTE: This is a paid solution. However, the good part is that you will only have to pay after you find out whether this method works for your signature or not.
Step 1: Just Google SodaPDF edit PDF and click on the 1st result.
You should see a page that looks like the one below.
Step 2: Upload your document.
Step 3: Click “Edit” on the floating top bar.
Step 4: Select the signature.
Step 5: Right-click the element → click "Delete".
And voila! Look for the green badge confirming: “Element has been removed.”
All there’s left to do now is to download your file.
And SodaPDF will show you their paywall. Once again, you’ll only have to pay now, after you’ve seen whether your signature can be removed by SodaPDF or not!
To remove your signature using Adobe Acrobat, select the signature (right click) and choose "Clear Signature" on the menu that pops up.
Adobe Acrobat presents a bit of a story.
The short answer is: you can only remove a signature if it’s yours!
To synthesize the rest of the answer:
However, most PDFs are locked with Acrobat. We suggest going for other methods in this guide!
Unfortunately, you can’t remove a signature from a locked PDF.
Your best bet is to simply use another method in this guide OR to try and re-create the PDF — only to then have full control over what text block/signature/etc is added where.
Once your signature is removed, the only thing left to do is add your new, correct signature.
Naturally, for that we recommend SignHouse:
As we mention in depth in this article on how to remove a signature from a PDF:
Removing a digital signature depends on the software you're using. However, here's how to remove a digital signature from most software:
Here's how to do it in SignHouse, the 8x faster and 12x more efficient eSignature app:
You can use SignHouse's signature generator, which is 100% free. You can choose between:
At the end, our Signature generator will put out a transparent-background signature that is ready to be uploaded.
A transparent-background signature works best, as that probably means you can use it in one of those rare situations where you either have a non-white background, or, on a white-background document, you still want the elements under the signature to be visible (e.g. a dotted line).
SignHouse's signature generator puts out transparent-background signatures!
You can simply remove the background of your signature via Microsoft Word.
Ch Daniel is the co-founder of SignHouse and chairman of the CH Group. Daniel is leading the development of SignHouse's product, as well as strategising how else the company can reach its main mission: empowering 100M+ to use the world's most efficient document organisational tools.