Amendment redaction is the removal of party PII from a variation document. In Rock Advertising Ltd v MWB Business Exchange Centres Ltd [2018] UKSC 24 the Supreme Court held that a no-oral-modification clause works. A variation must therefore take the written, signed form the parent agreement demands. That makes the executed version the record you keep whole, while anonym.plus cleans the copy you circulate.
When this applies
An amendment restates parts of a signed agreement and names the parties again in its recitals. Because Rock Advertising makes the written form decisive, the executed version has to stay intact. The precedent you circulate is a separate copy, and that is the one you clean.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the file in anonym.plus on your device.
- The tool flags party names and signatories.
- It scans recitals that re-name the original agreement.
- Confirm the flags and keep the revised clauses.
- Swap or black out the IDs.
- Save the clean file on your machine.
What you need to provide
- The amendment or addendum (PDF, DOCX, or scan).
- An operator; Replace keeps the clauses readable.
- Optional map to match labels with the parent agreement.
PII entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Parties | ORGANIZATION | party A → [PARTY_1] |
| Parties | ORGANIZATION | party B → [PARTY_2] |
| Names | PERSON | signatory → [SIGNATORY] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | amendment date → [DATE] |
| Contact | EMAIL_ADDRESS | notice email → [EMAIL] |
| Location | LOCATION | notice address → [ADDRESS] |
Compliance achieved
- Leaves the signed variation untouched, since Rock Advertising v MWB [2018] UKSC 24 makes the written form decisive.
- Keeps consideration wording, which after Williams v Roffey Bros [1991] 1 QB 1 can rest on practical benefit.
- Scans recitals that re-name the parent agreement and its parties.
- Supports UK GDPR Recital 26 anonymisation for shareable precedents.
- Offline work keeps the file inside your firm.
Anonymise amendments offline — see plans & start free →
Limitations & cautions
Recitals often quote the parent agreement's parties and date, which re-introduce PII. Check those lines. To keep labels consistent, match them with the parent's map before you share both.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a no-oral-modification clause matter?
In Rock Advertising v MWB [2018] UKSC 24 the Supreme Court held that such a clause is effective, so an informal variation will usually fail. The signed amendment is then the only record of the change. Redact a duplicate and leave the executed one alone.
Do the recitals get scanned?
Yes. Recitals that name the parent agreement are scanned too, so the parties' details there are flagged for removal. They are the most common place PII survives an otherwise clean pass.
Can labels match the original agreement?
Yes. Use the parent's map so one party keeps the same label across the agreement and all its changes. Without that, a reader cannot tell that [PARTY_1] in the amendment is [PARTY_1] in the parent.