Strip the signatures in one run
The tool sends a single instruction with your file: remove the certificate signatures. That instruction applies to the whole document, so you do not pick a signature, a page or a signer.
No file open
Remove certificate signatures from a PDF
or drop a file anywhere here
Dropbox
Google Drive
Files other than PDF are converted first. Signing in raises the size limit.
Or start from a blank IRS form
Browse all IRS forms →- You add
- One signed PDF
- You set
- Nothing, it runs as it is
- You get
- A PDF without its certificate signatures
A certificate signature is a digital signature stored inside a PDF. PDF readers check it and warn when the file has changed since it was signed, which gets in the way when a signed document needs one more correction. Remove Signature takes one signed PDF, strips its certificate signatures and gives you a copy without them. There is nothing to configure: add the file, select Run Remove Signature and download the result. The signed file on your device is left alone, so you keep the signed version as your record. A single job runs without an account. Removing a signature does not undo the fact that the original was signed, and the new copy is an ordinary unsigned PDF.
What can you do when you remove a signature from a PDF?
Skip the settings
After you add the PDF, the options card shows only Output format, already set to PDF. This tool has no checkbox, no password box and no page range.
Keep your signed original
indox works on the uploaded copy and hands back a new file. The signed PDF you started with stays wherever you saved it, with its signature in place.
See a clear result or a clear error
A finished job shows Conversion complete with a Download button. If the removal cannot run, the page shows Couldn’t process file with the reason and offers Try another.
What removing a signature keeps and changes
Stays the same
- The page content: text, images and drawing.
- Form fields other than signature fields.
- The file on your device. The signed original keeps its signature.
Changes
- Signature fields are taken out of the form, so a PDF reader no longer finds a signature to validate.
- A signature that showed on the page stays as plain drawing, because the current look of each field is made part of the page.
- The code looks for signatures in the form. If the file has no form, nothing changes and the PDF comes back as it was.
- The result is an unsigned PDF. Anything that relied on the signature needs the signed original or a new signature.
How to remove a signature from a PDF in 3 steps
Add the signed PDF
Drop it on the upload box at the top of the page, or press Choose file to browse for it. The box takes one PDF at a time.
Start the removal
There is nothing to fill in. Select Run Remove Signature and watch the progress bar until the job ends.
Download and check the copy
Choose Download to save the unsigned PDF. Open it in a PDF reader and look at the signature panel to confirm the signatures are gone.
Why remove a PDF signature with indox?
Remove Signature does one job and asks for nothing except the file. You are not asked for the signer's password, the certificate or a reason, and the page does not judge whether the signature was valid. Because the tool works on a copy, you never lose the signed version unless you delete it yourself. A single file runs without signing in, the upload goes over HTTPS, and on the free tier indox deletes the uploaded PDF and the result automatically within 24 hours after the job finishes. If the service that performs the removal is unavailable, the job fails with a message, and you are not handed your signed file back as though it had been processed.
- No settings: add the signed file and run
- The signed original stays on your device
- One file needs no sign-in
- Signed PDF uploaded over HTTPS
- Free-tier copies deleted automatically inside 24 hours
What are the limits when you remove a PDF signature?
- Size
- The free tier has a file size limit. Signing in raises it, and paid plans raise it further.
- Formats
- This tool works on PDF files. To change a file's type, use the PDF converter.
- Privacy
- Files are encrypted in transit and processed on indox infrastructure.
- Deletion
- Free-tier files are deleted automatically within 24 hours after the job finishes. Signed-in output stays in your history for your plan's retention period.
Limits worth knowing
- Remove Signature targets certificate signatures. It has no setting for a drawn signature, a typed name, a stamp or an image that is part of a page.
- You cannot choose which signature to remove. The one instruction covers the document, and the page offers no list of signers to pick from.
- The result screen gives no count and no names for the removed signatures. Check the copy in a PDF reader before you rely on it.
- There is no password box. If the PDF asks for a password when it opens, run Unlock PDF first and bring the unlocked copy here.
- The download is an unsigned document. Anyone who relies on the signature needs the signed original, or a copy that has been signed again.
When the unsigned copy is not what you expected
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The signature still shows on the page | The tool removes the signature, and what it looked like is turned into plain drawing | Edit the source document and export it again if the picture itself has to go. |
| A reader still reports a signature | The tool removes the signature fields it finds in the form, and anything stored elsewhere stays | Check the copy in a PDF reader before you rely on it. |
| You need the document signed again | The removal cannot be undone | Sign the unsigned copy with Sign a PDF with a certificate. |
| The file asks for a password | The form has no password box | Remove it with Unlock PDF, then bring the open copy here. |
What do the free and paid plans add?
Free
- All converters
- Daily credit refresh
- Email support
Basic
- Access to all features
- AI Extract
- Priority conversions
- Email support
Highest priority
Premium
- Everything in Basic
- Highest priority queue
- Larger file limits
- Priority support
Pay-As-You-Go
- No subscription
- Credits never expire
- Opt-in auto-refill
- Access to all features
What else can you do with a PDF?
Who removes signatures from PDFs?
Authors fixing a signed draft
A typo turned up after the PDF was signed, and the signature now stands in the way of the fix. Strip it, make the correction and have the corrected version signed again.
Office staff preparing files for a system
A records or upload system flags PDFs whose signatures it cannot verify. Keep the signed originals in your archive and submit unsigned copies where the system asks for them.
Developers building test files
You need the same document with and without a signature to see how your software reacts. Sign a sample with Certificate Sign, then remove the signature here.
When to remove a signature, and when to leave it
- A signed PDF needs another edit and will be signed again afterward.
- A warning about an unknown signer confuses readers of a file that no longer needs its signature.
- You want an unsigned working copy while the signed original stays in your records.
- You are testing how software handles one document with and without a signature.
- Someone else relies on the signature. Leave the file as it is and send the signed original.
Where can I read more?
Sources
- RemoveCertSignController.javaStirling-PDF source code, v2.14.2
- PDAcroForm.flattenApache PDFBox source code
Facts checked on October 16, 2026
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Remove Signature FAQs
What does Remove Signature take out of a PDF?
It removes the certificate signatures stored in the file. Those are the digital signatures that a PDF reader lists in its signature panel.
Do I need the signer's certificate or password?
No. The page asks for the PDF and nothing else, and it has no field for a certificate, a key or a password.
Does it remove a handwritten signature drawn on the page?
The tool is built for certificate signatures and has no setting for drawn or pasted marks. Do not count on it to erase ink that is part of a page.
Is my original signed file changed?
No. indox processes the copy you upload and returns a new PDF, and the signed file on your computer or phone is not touched.
Can I remove one signature and keep the others?
No. The tool has no signature list, so a run applies the removal to the whole file.
How do I know the signature is gone?
The page confirms only that the job finished. Open the downloaded copy in a PDF reader and check that its signature panel is empty.
Do I need an account to remove a signature?
A single job runs without signing in, because Remove Signature carries the free badge. The limits on Remove Signature go up when you sign in or take a paid plan.
What happens to my files afterward?
Free-tier uploads and results from this tool are deleted automatically within 24 hours after the job finishes. The transfer to indox uses HTTPS.