Why are my PDF redactions appearing on multiple pages or in wrong locations?

If your PDF redactions are appearing in incorrect locations or being duplicated across multiple pages, this is likely due to background images in your document. This is a common issue when working with documents that have headers, footers, or watermarks implemented as background images.

Why does this happen?

PDF redactions must be applied to all layers of a document. When a document contains background images that repeat across multiple pages, redactions will appear on every instance of that background image. This is a limitation of the PDF format itself and occurs in all PDF editing software.

Solutions

There are two ways to resolve this issue:

1. Use white redaction bars: Instead of using black redaction bars, switch to white bars. Since background images appear behind the text, white redactions will only be visible on the text layer while remaining invisible on the background. This is the quickest solution if you've already completed your redactions.

2. Remove background images: Before uploading your document for redaction, remove any background images, headers, or footers from the Word document. While this requires you to redo your redactions, it will allow you to use standard black redaction bars without any display issues.