How to verify a redacted PDF

Every redaction Omitly makes writes a signed, tamper-evident audit report and embeds it inside the redacted PDF. Anyone with Omitly can check that report — the verdict, the document hashes and the seal — without taking your word for it, and without the file ever being uploaded.

Verify a redacted PDF

1. Open Omitly and click Verify in the toolbar.
2. Choose the redacted PDF. Omitly reads the embedded audit report, re-checks the seal over the exact bytes of the file, and shows the verdict.
3. Optionally choose Check against source and pick the original document. Omitly confirms the original’s hash matches the input recorded in the report — evidence the redacted file was produced from that exact source.

Verification runs entirely on your machine. The document you are checking never leaves your computer.

What the verdict means

• Seal intact and verified — the file is byte-for-byte unchanged since it was sealed, and the report records that every redacted region passed. This is integrity, not proof of who produced the file; compare the key fingerprint out of band if origin matters to you.
• Seal intact, not fully passed — the seal checks out, but the report notes the redaction did not fully pass. Review the warnings before you share the file.
• Seal invalid — the document or its report was altered after sealing. Do not rely on it.
• No report found — the PDF carries no Omitly audit report. It was not redacted by Omitly, or the report was stripped. Omitly treats this as unverified, never as a silent pass.

Export a one-page certificate

From the Verify result, choose Export certificate to save a single-page PDF — the verdict, the document hashes, the redaction counts and the signing key’s fingerprint — to file with the matter or hand to a client, a regulator or the court.

Can the recipient check it themselves?

Yes. The signed report travels inside the PDF, so anyone with Omitly can run Verify and watch the seal check for themselves. To tie the file to a specific original, they supply that source document and Omitly confirms the input hash — no trust in you required.