How to Remove Digital Signature from PDF Files – Best Ways
A Digital Signature (ID) can be defined as a certification of the genuineness of PDF files. It is just like a traditional handwritten signature. The only difference is it is difficult to forge as it has encrypted information. It also has one more protection layer and that is password protection which can be stored as PKCS #12 file format also known as PFX format. A digital signature indirectly certifies a document and its content is locked for further changes. But many situations put users in trouble and they are themselves trapped under their security layers. In such a situation, you must know how to remove digital signature from PDF files.
You can follow the below-mentioned methods to remove this PDF signature as per your scenario.
Tricks to Remove Digital Signature from PDF
Single Digital Signature: Consider that the PDF file comprises only one valid signature in the PDF file. The first thing you have to do is determine whether the digital signature was applied while creating this PDF file or if it has been added after the creation of the PDF file.
Case 1: If the Digital Signature was added while creating the PDF file, then find the signature field and then delete the value. APF file should be also deleted if you want to remove the signature appearance.
Case 2: If the signature was added after PDF creation, you will have to follow another method to remove digital signature from PDF file. Generally, an incremental mode is used for saving these PDF documents. This is because the current version of the PDF must be preserved in order to add a new signature to an existing document. And that is why in order to remove an existing signature its previous version must be fetched. You can easily go back to the previous version of the PDF by finding the document’s 2nd to last “%%EOF\r\n” and deleting anything after this string. This will ultimately give you a back version of the PDF file before it was applied with the signature.
More Than One Signature: If a PDF document carries more than one signature, in that situation only the signature that was applied most recently will be removed without invalidating other signatures. The above-mentioned method can be used for multiple-signature PDF documents as well. You will have to go back to the version of the PDF where the recent signature was not applied. In case you want to remove a digital signature from a PDF file, which is older and was applied long before, then you will have to remove all the signatures added after that signature including that particular signature.
Acrobat Function: If you have created the PDF file in Acrobat and acquired all the required passwords. Then, you can perform the removal of signature in PDF file using Clear option. For this, you must have the Digital ID for signing it installed.
- Firstly, open the PDF file in Acrobat DC.
- Locate the digital signature in the PDF file.
- Then, right-click on the signature field and select the Clear signature option.
Do note that if you do not have the digital ID of the signature, this option will be absent and your best bet is to opt for the tool below. Also, in many cases, even after removing the digital signature from PDF, the actual sign placeholder still remains. The below given solution deletes even this placeholder from your documents.
Best Way to Remove Digital Signature from PDF Documents
The best way to remove digital signature from PDF files is to make use of SysTools PDF Unlocker. It does not matter whether you have the digital ID of the signature inside the PDF or not, this tool will remove all digital signatures with/without them. The other functionality of the tool includes the removal of all permissions and restrictions like edit, print, copy, signing, etc.
Important: Please try the demo version first to verify the working of the product. This is an important step that ensures that neither your money nor time is wasted during the exchange. Although the final PDF will have our watermark, you will be able to understand the working of the product as well as verify the authenticity of removing PDF signature.
Step-by-step guide to remove PDF signature:
- Launch the product on your PC.
- Add PDF files having signatures using Add Files button.
- Enter password if PDF requires an open password.
- Click Unlock button to remove digital signature of PDF files.
- Open the new PDF file to verify the removal.
What if a User Also Wants to Remove Image signature like watermarks –
Watermarks actually make it easy to visually distinguish between one highly sensitive document and others that are not. This does not act exactly as security protection but signifies and distinguishes between general and secured PDF files. But what if the user wants to remove it? Well, it can be easily done using the SysTools Watermark Remover Tool.
Conclusion
PDF file format is a widely used file format with excellent security options. The application of user passwords, owner passwords, digital signatures, etc. makes it perfect to lock down your content. While creating PDF documents, some users also add signature to PDF documents. But, it becomes a challenge to remove digital signature from PDF files. With the methods defined here, you now have the essential knowledge to tackle such situations.
FAQs
Q. Why can’t I remove signature from the PDF file?
You can only remove your own signature from the PDF file. If you have the digital ID used to sign the PDF, you can update the digital ID in your PDF editor and delete the PDF signature.
If you do not have the digital ID, you won’t get the option to clear signature. In such a case, use the recommended software.
Your PDF may also be locked to disable such actions. To resolve this, you will need to use the recommended software.
Q. How do I remove signature permissions from my PDF?
If your actual query is how to remove signature permissions from PDF and not the digital signature itself, even then you can make use of the recommended unlocker tool.