Finance announced an audit and I discovered our permits and contracts from last year are scattered. I need to set rete…
Log in to the Adobe Admin Console with administrator credentials.
Navigate to the Acrobat Sign section in the Admin Console.
Access the retention policies or equivalent settings area for Acrobat Sign.
Review the list of active retention rules and verify that the expected rules are enabled and configured for the correct user groups or document types.
CautionRetention rules only apply to agreements and data as defined in the rule configuration; misconfigured scopes may cause rules to be skipped.
Check the status of each retention rule to ensure none are disabled or expired.
For agreements or data not being deleted as expected, search for the specific user or document in question and review its retention status.
Best practiceIf you suspect a rule is not applying, filter by rule status and affected users to quickly identify mismatches or exceptions.
If a retention rule is not being applied, edit the rule and verify all conditions (such as user, group, document type, and retention period) are correct.
Save any changes and reapply the rule if necessary.
If issues persist, disable and then re-enable the affected retention rule to force a policy refresh.
Best practiceSome admins report that toggling the rule status can resolve stuck retention processing, especially after bulk user changes.
If data is still not deleted as expected, consult the audit logs or activity reports in the Admin Console to check for errors or skipped actions related to retention.
Contact Adobe Enterprise Support if you identify unresolved errors or if the retention engine is not processing according to documented policy.
Retention policy issues often stem from misconfigured rule scopes or inactive rules—review each rule's settings carefully in the Admin Console.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
A Security Policy in Acrobat is a reusable set of rules, often protected by a password or certificate, that controls how documents are handled. It matters for retention because these policies are how administrators define how long documents must be kept. This ensures documents meet legal and company rules, like HIPAA or ISO 27001, by applying the retention period automatically when a document is finalized.
If your company needs to follow PCI DSS 3.0, Acrobat's retention feature helps by letting an administrator set specific rules for how long documents are kept. These rules can be applied to documents that contain sensitive payment card information. This ensures that the documents are either deleted after a set time or kept for the required period, helping your company meet the data retention requirements of PCI DSS 3.0.
An administrator sets retention rules at a high level for accounts or groups, deciding how long documents are kept system-wide. This is a background setting that users don't usually see. A normal user, however, might protect a single document with a password or by restricting editing. The administrator's rules are about the lifespan of the document for compliance, while a user's protection is usually for immediate access or editing control.
It is important to coordinate with IT because they are the ones who manage the system and have the necessary access to set up these rules. They ensure that the retention policies are correctly applied across all documents and users. IT also helps make sure that the rules follow all company policies and legal requirements, preventing problems with data management and compliance.