You're filing a motion that includes exhibits. The court rules require redacting Social Security numbers, financial accounts, dates of birth, names of minors. The clerk will reject filings where redactions are reversible.
Meeting that standard is exactly what Flint is built for.
What courts require
Most jurisdictions require redaction that permanently removes the underlying content. A black rectangle drawn on top — common in older tools or amateur attempts — fails the test. Acrobat, Flint, and a handful of other tools do real redaction: the text streams within the marked area are stripped, and the black mark is the only thing left in that location.
Targets in a typical court filing
SSNs (XXX-XX-XXXX), financial account numbers, dates of birth, names of minors, home addresses (sometimes), driver's licence numbers. Use find-and-redact for patterned data (SSNs, accounts). Use manual selection for names and addresses where pattern matching is unreliable. Apply redaction once all marks are placed.
Verify the redaction worked
Open the redacted file and try to select text within the black bars. If anything copies out, redaction failed — usually because you drew a black annotation instead of using the redact tool. In Flint, 'apply redaction' is the step that makes it permanent. Without applying, marks are previews only.
Document version control
Keep the unredacted original in your secure files. The version you file is the redacted output. Name them clearly ('Smith-v-Jones-Motion-REDACTED.pdf') to prevent accidentally filing the wrong one. Many filing errors come from mixing up versions in the eleventh hour.
FAQ
Does Flint's redaction meet federal court requirements?
Flint's redaction strips underlying text streams — the requirement most courts apply. We can't guarantee compliance with every jurisdiction's specific rules; verify with local rules.
What about metadata?
Clear it with edit PDF metadata controls. Some courts also require metadata scrubbing.
Can I redact and password-protect for the same file?
Yes. Redact first, then password protect the redacted output.
What if I redacted the wrong thing?
Use the unredacted original to start over. Redaction is permanent in the output.
Real redaction, court-grade. Redact for court.