Redaction
Redaction in eDiscovery is the removal of privileged, protected or otherwise withheld content from a document before it is produced. The marking is burned into the page image so the text beneath is destroyed rather than merely covered, the page is re-OCR'd, the document is flagged as redacted in the load file, and the basis for each redaction is recorded.
Also called: burn-in redaction · redaction log · native redaction · redactions · redacted production
Updated September 6, 2026
How does redaction work?
Redaction happens after review, at production. A reviewer marks the region and codes the reason: privileged, work product, personal data, non-responsive under an agreed relevance-redaction protocol. The platform then renders the page, draws the marking into the raster, and writes the result as the produced image. What is under the black box is not hidden; it no longer exists in that file.
Three things follow automatically and all three are required. The page is re-OCR’d, because the document’s original extracted text still contains the redacted words and producing it would defeat the redaction entirely. The document is flagged in the DAT file with a REDACTED field, so the receiving party can identify redacted documents without reading every page. And the native file is withheld and replaced by the image, since producing the native alongside a redacted image discloses what was redacted.
The failure mode everyone knows is a black rectangle drawn over live text in a PDF and never flattened: the shape is a drawing object, the text is still selectable underneath, and copy-paste reveals it. Burn-in exists specifically because that keeps happening.
Redaction is also the point where an image-based production earns its keep. Redacting a TIFF page is straightforward; there is nothing under the ink. Redacting a spreadsheet with formulas referencing the redacted cells is not.
What does redaction look like in practice?
A protocol clause covering the mechanics, and a redaction log row:
Redactions shall be burned into the produced image. Redacted documents shall be produced with OCR text generated from the redacted image in place of extracted text, shall bear a value of “Yes” in the REDACTED field of the data load file, and shall not be produced in native format. Each redaction shall be identified in a redaction log stating the Bates number, the basis for the redaction, and the privilege asserted, if any.
| Bates | Basis | Privilege |
|---|---|---|
| APEX-004182 | Legal advice re: contract dispute | Attorney-client |
| APEX-004310 | Personal data, bank account number | none |
(Draft language, not legal advice, verify local rules and your protective order.)
Testing that a redaction is burned in rather than drawn is item 9 on the production checklist.
How does redaction show up on an eDiscovery invoice?
Redaction burn-in falls under endorsement and branding in the Fee Field Guide, the same category as Bates stamping and confidentiality legends, and is sometimes billed per page on top of the production fee for the same page. The re-OCR of redacted pages can appear again under OCR and imaging. And because redaction is applied at production, redacted documents flow through format conversion and export charges like everything else in the volume.
The larger cost is upstream and never appears as a line: redaction is attorney time, applied page by page, and a relevance-redaction protocol that requires redacting non-responsive content inside otherwise responsive documents can multiply it.
Ask whether redaction burn-ins cost extra, whether endorsements are included in the production fee or billed per page, and whether re-OCR of redacted pages is a separate charge.
Sources
- Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(a) (redactions in court filings).
- Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5)(A) (describing withheld information).
- EDRM, Production Guide on redactions and endorsements.
- The Sedona Conference, Glossary: eDiscovery & Digital Information Management.
- Fee categories: the Fee Field Guide dataset.
Related terms
Privilege log · TIFF production · OCR · Document production · Clawback agreement · Metadata
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Common questions
Can you redact a native file?
Not safely in the file itself. Editing a native to remove content changes the file, breaks its hash and destroys its evidentiary character. The conventional answer is to produce a redacted image of the document in place of the native, with a slip sheet explaining the substitution. Some protocols permit a redacted native for spreadsheets, produced as a new file with the redaction applied and the change disclosed; that is a negotiated exception, and it belongs in the ESI protocol.
Do you have to log redactions?
For privilege redactions, effectively yes. Rule 26(b)(5)(A) requires a party withholding information under a privilege claim to describe the nature of what is withheld in a manner that will enable other parties to assess the claim, and a redaction is a partial withholding. Many ESI protocols and model orders go further and require a redaction log with the reason code for every redacted document. Relevance redactions are more contested and should be addressed at the meet and confer.
What must be redacted under the rules?
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 governs filings with the court, not productions between parties: in a filing containing a social-security or taxpayer-identification number, a birth date, the name of a known minor, or a financial-account number, a party may include only the last four digits of the number, the year of birth, and the minor's initials. Productions are governed by the protective order and the ESI protocol, which usually cover a wider set of personal data.