How to redact a contract before you share it

You need to redact a contract before it goes to the other side, a court or a new adviser. Doing it well takes one pass, not five tools: fill in and sign, cover what they don’t need, give each cover its reason, mark the copy for its recipient, export once, and file the log. Here’s that pass in Dress Docs, step by step. The document stays on your device throughout.

Before you redact a contract: what the other side doesn’t need

Start with the recipient, not the document. The GDPR asks that personal data be limited to what is necessary for the purpose (Art. 5(1)(c)). For each recipient, ask what they need to read, and plan to cover the rest. Often that is:

private addresses, dates of birth and ID numbers of the signatories;
bank details and account numbers;
the personal data of third parties named in the contract or its annexes;
terms the recipient has no part in, where your client wants them kept back.

Which passages go is your professional call. The tool only makes sure that what you cover is gone. Germany’s Lower Saxony data protection authority puts the standard plainly: remove the data, it isn’t enough to hide it (LfD Niedersachsen).

Open the contract in Dress Docs. Type into the fields that need filling, and add an image of your signature or stamp. Everything you add is flattened with the page on export, together with the covers. You send one file, not a signed copy and a redacted copy.

Cover, with a reason on each cover

Cover each passage with a solid cover; there is no blur or pixelation. Then give each cover its reason, printed on the cover (Pro): “Third-party personal data”, “Bank details”, or the wording your firm uses. The reader sees why each part is missing, and doesn’t have to ask. How to word reasons: how to justify redactions.

The counterparty’s name appears on every page? Search and cover (Pro) finds every instance of a name, e-mail, IBAN or phone number in a PDF with a text layer. You review each match before it’s covered.

Mark the copy for its recipient

Add a watermark that says who the copy is for, why, and when: for example, “Copy for [recipient], for [purpose], [date]”. It’s translucent and tiled, so the text stays readable. If the copy is forwarded, it shows where it came from.

Export once and check the file

Export when everything is in place. Each page becomes one flat image with your covers, reasons, text, signature and watermark in it. The text under the covers is gone from the file (why a black box isn’t enough). Author, title, producer, dates and the PDF fingerprint are removed.

One consequence to know: a flattened page has no text layer, so the recipient can’t select or search the text. That’s what makes the covers hold.

Keep the log for the file

Save the redaction log (Pro) with the matter. It records covers, reasons, pages and date, and contains no document content. Together with the copy you sent, it shows what went out and why each part was held back. What a log should hold: the redaction log.

Reasons, the log and search and cover are in Pro; covers, form fill, signature, watermark and the clean export are free. See the whole editor on the features page, compare plans on pricing, or start Pro.