How to Remove Annotations From a PDF: 3 Easy Ways

The answer to the “How to remove annotations from a PDF?” question is to use a PDF editor or a built-in viewer such as Mac Preview or Chrome to access the document and delete any annotations. PDF annotations refer to the comments, highlights, or notes that are added to a document to provide feedback on its content.

They are often used in collaborative settings like universities or the workplace, allowing teams to work together on a document without changing its original content. However, once they have served their purpose, you can remove them from the file.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through three ways to remove them, plus what to do with scanned PDFs.

Key Takeaways

• Live annotations (comments, highlights, sticky notes and drawings) can be deleted in most PDF editors and viewers.
• A dedicated PDF editor is best for bulk and by-type removal, while Mac Preview and browsers work for quick fixes on a few annotations.
• Marks on scanned or flattened PDFs are part of the page image, so they need an image-editing or redaction workaround instead of a simple delete.
• Hiding an annotation isn’t deleting it, and hidden comments can still be in the file.
• Save a copy before you start, because deleted annotations usually can’t be restored once the file is saved.

How to Remove Annotations From a PDF File

You can remove annotations from a PDF using a PDF editor, a built-in viewer, or a browser. The best option depends on your device and how many annotations you need to delete.

Tip: Save a copy of the original file before you start. Deleted annotations generally can’t be recovered once you save your changes.

#1. Remove Annotations in Adobe Acrobat

1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat and choose Menu > Save As to create a copy to work on.
   
2. Open the Comments panel (the speech bubble icon) to see a list of every annotation in the document.
   
3. Click an annotation on the page or in the list to select it, then press Delete.
   
4. To remove many at once, click the first comment in the list, hold Shift, click the last one, and press Delete.
   
5. To remove only one type, such as highlights, use the filter in the comments list to show just that type, select the results, and press Delete.
   
6. Review the pages, then choose Menu > Save.

If you’re about to share the file, Acrobat Pro’s Sanitize Document (Remove Hidden Information) option can also strip leftover comments, PDF metadata, and other hidden content, depending on the options and document content.

#2. Remove Annotations on Mac (Preview)

1. Preview saves changes automatically, so choose File > Duplicate first and work on the copy.
   
2. Choose View > Highlights and Notes to list the annotations in the sidebar.
   
3. Click an annotation on the page or in the sidebar to select it, then press Delete. For a highlight, you can also Control-click it and choose Remove Highlight.
   
4. Repeat for each annotation, then choose File > Save.
   

Preview removes annotations one at a time, so it works best for documents with only a few. Annotations created in other apps may not be editable in Preview.

#3. Remove Annotations in the Browser

1. Open the PDF in your browser (Chrome/Edge).
   
2. Open the annotation toolbar (the pen or Draw icon).
   
3. Select the eraser tool and click on the mark you want to remove.
   
4. Download or save the updated copy of the file.

These browsers generally only edit marks made in the browser itself. Comments, sticky notes, and annotations added in other apps often can’t be selected or erased here, so use a PDF editor for those.

#4. Remove Annotations With pdf.net

Removing annotations from a PDF file is easy using pdf.net. Here’s how you can use our tool to clear PDF annotations online:

1. First, you need to upload your PDF document to our PDF editor and add your annotations, such as drawings and highlights.
   
2. Download your document as a PDF, then share it with others.
   
3. When you want to remove annotations, upload the annotated document to pdf.net again. Click Draw in the toolbar, then select the eraser icon.
   

Use the eraser to remove the highlights and drawings you want to delete. You can also adjust the eraser size to suit the area you want to erase.

Keep in mind that this method works for annotations made with Microsoft Edge and pdf.net, but it will not work for annotations created with third-party PDF tools.

4 Common Types of Annotations in PDF Files

From text comments to drawings, there are various types of annotations you may encounter in PDF files.

Let’s go over each one in detail:

#1. Text Comments

Text comments are the most common type of annotation you would see in a PDF document, and as the name suggests, they consist of plain text. These often add a floating text box next to the relevant sentence or section.

Because they are text-based, you can choose to extract or delete annotations from the PDF. When you delete comments from a PDF, the text is permanently removed from the file once you save it. Meanwhile, when you choose to extract annotations from a PDF, you can save them to your device locally for future reference or use (for example, by exporting your comments or creating a comment summary in Adobe Acrobat). To remove a text comment, select it and press Delete, or use the delete option in the comments list.

#2. Highlights

Highlight annotations are used to mark specific sentences or sections in the text. Unlike comments that are often used to recommend changes or provide feedback, highlights are used to call attention to important parts of the document. To remove a highlight, click on it to select it, then press Delete or choose the remove or delete option from the right-click menu.

#3. Drawings

Drawing annotations refer to the freehand lines or the shapes that emphasize key points in the document. For instance, if there are any diagrams or charts that require visual adjustments, you can add a drawing annotation to the file to suggest the changes. To remove a drawing, select it and press Delete, or use the eraser tool in Markup tools and browser viewers.

#4. Sticky Notes

Like text comments, sticky notes are text-based annotations that can be used to leave feedback or comments on the document. Unlike text comments, they appear as a small note icon on the page, and the message opens in a pop-up when you click the icon. Since sticky note annotations have the visual of a physical sticky note, they can be more eye-catching and effective than a text comment.

However, they can also make the document look cluttered, so be sure to remove sticky notes from the PDF before submitting or presenting it. To do so, click the note icon and choose Delete.

How to Remove Annotations From Scanned PDF Documents

Now that you know how to remove annotations from a PDF, you may be wondering if the process is the same for scanned documents, and the answer is no. Since scanned PDF documents are essentially images, most PDF editors won’t be able to change the file’s content.

The key is to check which type of mark you are dealing with:

• Live annotations, such as adding highlights, comments, or sticky notes in a PDF reader/viewer, even on a scanned document. They sit on top of the page as separate objects, so you can delete them with any of the methods above; no OCR is needed in this case.
• Flattened or scanned marks like handwriting, pen marks, or stamps that were on the paper when it was scanned, or annotations that were flattened into the page. These are part of the image itself, so they can’t be selected and deleted.

To edit scanned PDFs or remove any annotations, you can use a PDF editor with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities. OCR extracts the data from the scanned document and converts it into editable text, allowing you to make adjustments. However, OCR only makes the text selectable and editable. It can’t remove marks that are baked into the scanned image, such as handwriting or ink highlighting.

For flattened or scanned marks, use one of these fixes instead:

• Cover or redact the marks. Use an editor that can edit scanned pages to draw a white box over the mark. Redaction with a white fill permanently removes the pixels underneath, but it will also remove any text beneath the mark.
• Edit the page image. Export the page as an image, clean up the mark in an image editor, and place it back into the PDF.
• Re-scan or ask for a clean copy. If you still have the original paper or file, this is usually the cleanest result.

If you only need the text from the scan, you can convert a scanned PDF to Word or another text format. All you have to do is upload your document to our PDF to Word tool and then click Convert. When it’s done, download the converted file and review it carefully, because handwritten marks may not convert accurately.

Hiding vs. Deleting Annotations in PDF

The difference between hiding vs. deleting annotations in a PDF is that the former is temporary while the latter is permanent.

When you hide an annotation, you simply remove it from view without actually removing it from the document. This can be useful in files that are a work in progress, allowing you to view the most recent comments while still keeping the previous ones for reference.

Deleting annotations, on the other hand, permanently removes them from the file once you save it. You may choose to erase text markup from a PDF if your document is already finalized and ready to be shared. This ensures a clean and presentable file without any distracting text. Because the change can’t be undone after saving, always keep a copy of the original.

A third option is flattening. Flattening merges annotations into the page itself, so they stay visible but can no longer be edited or deleted. Use it when you want to share a finished markup that can’t be changed, not when you want the annotations gone.

Note: Hidden comments can still be in the file, and anyone who opens it can show them again. Delete them, or use Acrobat Pro’s Sanitize Document option, before you share a file outside your team.

Final Thoughts

The best way to remove annotations from a PDF depends on your device, how many annotations you have, and whether they are live or flattened. PDF editors handle bulk jobs best, while Preview and browsers are quick for small fixes. Whichever method you choose, save a copy first so you can always go back to the original.

How to Remove Annotation From PDFs FAQs

#1. How do I remove markings from a PDF?

To remove markings from a PDF, open the file in a PDF editor or viewer, select the annotation you want to remove (a comment, highlight, sticky note, or drawing), and press Delete. Then save the file. In Chrome/Edge and pdf.net, use the eraser tool instead.

#2. Is it possible to remove only specific annotations from PDFs?

Yes, it’s possible to remove only specific annotations from PDFs. For instance, if you only want to remove highlights from a PDF, filter the comments list by type in Adobe Acrobat, select the highlights that appear, and press Delete. In viewers without a filter, select and delete them one at a time.

#3. What happens to the original document after removing annotations?

After removing annotations, the original document and its content will usually not be affected. Removing annotations from a PDF simply deletes the comments on the document and not any of the actual text, so you won’t have to worry about accidentally altering the file’s content. Just save a copy first, because deleted annotations usually can’t be recovered once you save the file.

#4. Can I remove annotations from a PDF for free?

Yes, you can remove annotations from a PDF for free. Namely, Mac Preview, Chrome, and Edge are free but offer limited options for removing annotations.

#5. Why can’t I delete an annotation from my PDF?

Some of the most common reasons why you can’t delete annotations from your PDFs are: the file is password-protected or permission-restricted, the mark is flattened or scanned, it’s a form field, not an annotation, the change wasn’t saved, or it was added in another app. For instance, Preview and browsers often can’t edit annotations created elsewhere.