Removing audit trail from e-signed docs

There seems to be quite a number of users who would like to option to not have the audit page automatically appended at the end. In situations where there is not a need to have strict legal enforcability, but still would like to add a signature, the audit page is unnecessary. A better solution would be to have the audit page as a complement file that assures the validity of the signed document.

I read somewhere that if one have a business-level Adobe account it is possible to turn this feature off. Adobe Acrobat DC, which I use, seems not to have this feature provided.

I have two workarounds to get rid of this audit page:

1) Sign a paper hardcopy with a pen, the old-style way

2) a. Have the document signed digitally by all parties, b. Print the signed document, c. Scan the hardcopy, d.  Import all pages but the audit page back into Adobe Acrobat DC, e. Build together the signed pdf

More convenient solutions would be to go "up or out on Adobe" - go up to the referred to business-level version (if this offers this feature) or go out to find another vendor that offers this feature.

Editing a signed document, if it is possible, destroys the signatures, by design. (It leaves the signature appearances, but I hope everyone is trained to ignore these as fakes if the signature panel does not show valid signatures).

Given this, I suggest that you deal with urgent late changes by making them to your copy of the final unsigned document, from your archive. Then, once made, you can attach the signed document as an attachment, and finally sign it again personally. This shows good faith, and allows a forensic examination to show exactly what was signed, and how it differs from the edited result.

I am not aware of an audit trail feature in Adobe Acrobat. Do you have other plug-ins installed that might create this audit trail? 

As far as editing a signed document goes: The whole idea of signing a document is to prevent (or flag) edits. When you sign a document, and I then go in and change something, the document is no longer the one that was signed, so Acrobat's signature verification will flag that. This means that there is no way around how a signed document limits you what you can do with it.