Remove PDF Annotations and Markup
What counts as an annotation in a PDF
Remove PDF annotations such as comments, highlights, links or stamps from selected pages. Choose the annotation types to remove and inspect the exported document for anything that should remain. This can prepare a reviewed draft for distribution, but it does not remove ordinary text or images embedded in the page content.
Cost: Free to use. File size and usage limits apply.
How to remove annotations from a PDF
Add one PDF
Click Choose PDF or drop a PDF of up to 200 MB on the preview. You can also pick a file from Uploads, including results from other PDF tools. If you drop several PDFs, only the first is used.
Limit the pages (optional)
To clean only part of the document, enter page positions in Pages (optional), for example
1-3,5. Leave the field empty to process every page.Choose the types (optional)
Leave Annotation types (optional) empty to remove every annotation on those pages. To remove only some, type their PDF names, for example
Highlight, Underline, StrikeOut.Remove, check, download
Click Remove annotations. The cleaned PDF appears in the preview, so you can page through it before you click Download cleaned PDF. The result is also saved in Uploads for use in other tools.
Pages and annotation types
Both fields are optional. With both empty, every annotation on every page is removed.
- Pages (optional)
- Enter single pages (
4), ranges (2-6) or a comma-separated mix such as1-3,5. Spaces are ignored. Use positions in the file, not the page numbers printed in the document. Open ranges such as5-and words likeoddare not accepted, and a page beyond the end of the file is rejected before anything changes. - Annotation types (optional)
- Empty means all types, including links and form fields. Otherwise enter one or more PDF annotation names, separated by commas or spaces, written as listed in the next section, for example
HighlightorStrikeOut. A name that matches nothing is skipped, as long as another name in the list matches. - Combining both
- The fields work together.
3in Pages (optional) plusInkin Annotation types (optional) removes only the pen drawings on page 3 and leaves every other annotation in place.
Which type names to enter
PDF viewers use their own words for markup. These are the names the tool understands, grouped by what you see on the page.
Comments and sticky notes
Text is the note icon on the page. Popup is the associated comment window. Enter Text, Popup to select both annotation types for removal.
Text markup
Highlight, Underline, StrikeOut for crossed-out text and Squiggly for wavy underlines. Caret is the insertion mark used for suggested edits.
Text boxes and stamps
FreeText covers text boxes and callouts typed onto the page. Stamp covers stamps such as Approved or Draft.
Drawings and shapes
Ink is freehand pen drawing. Line, Square, Circle, Polygon and PolyLine are drawn shapes; Square also covers rectangles and Circle covers ellipses.
Links, attachments, form fields
Link removes clickable web links and internal links, such as a clickable table of contents. FileAttachment removes the icons for files attached to a page, often shown as a paper clip. Widget removes form fields and buttons.
Rare types
Sound, Movie, Screen, 3D, Redact, Watermark, PrinterMark and TrapNet are accepted too. An empty field removes these as well.
What stays in the file
The tool deletes annotation objects and leaves the page content underneath alone. Text, images and fonts are not re-rendered or recompressed, so there is no quality loss. Markup that was flattened into the page, for example a highlight that was printed and scanned, or a watermark added with Watermark PDF, is page content and stays visible.
Bookmarks, title and author are kept. The producer entry is set to pdfcpu; the creation and modification dates are set to the time of processing.
Choose the types according to what you want removed. For notes and their comment windows, enter Text, Popup. Leaving the type field empty also removes links and form fields on the selected pages, so list the review types explicitly if those interactive elements should remain.
Formats and limits
- Input format
- Output format
- One PDF with the same pages, minus the selected annotations
- Maximum file size
- 200 MB
- Files per job
- 1 PDF
- Password-protected PDFs
- PDFs that open without a password but restrict editing or printing are processed, and the result keeps that protection. PDFs that ask for a password when you open them fail; remove the password first with Unlock PDF.
- Processing
- On our servers with the pdfcpu PDF library. No AI service is involved. A job can run for up to 15 minutes.
- Watermark
- None
- Storage
- Uploads and results are deleted automatically after 48 hours for guests and after 30 days for free accounts. Paid plans can keep files longer.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I get an error instead of a cleaned file?
The selected pages need to contain annotations matching the requested types. Check the page positions and the exact PDF type names; leave both fields empty to select every page and annotation type. The document must open without asking for a password. A visible mark already flattened into page content is not an annotation this tool can remove.
A highlight is still visible after cleaning. Why?
It is no longer an annotation. Some apps flatten markup into the page when they save or print to PDF, and scanned paper markup was never an annotation. Flattened markup is part of the page content, the same as the text under it, so this tool cannot separate it.
Will the links in my table of contents stop working?
Yes, if you leave Annotation types (optional) empty or include Link, because clickable links are annotations. Bookmarks in the viewer's sidebar are not annotations and stay. To keep links, list only the types you want gone, for example Text, Popup, Highlight.
Can I remove only one reviewer's comments?
No. The tool filters by page and annotation type, not by author or date. If different reviewers used different tools, for example one highlighted and another added sticky notes, filtering by type can come close.
Does removing annotations make the PDF smaller?
Annotation objects are removed and the file is rewritten, while images and fonts stay as they are. The change in size depends on the removed objects and the source document's structure. Compress PDF can apply separate structural optimization; compare the actual result rather than expecting a fixed saving.