diff --git a/crates/engine/src/actions.rs b/crates/engine/src/actions.rs
index f679cf87c..f7d11d47e 100644
--- a/crates/engine/src/actions.rs
+++ b/crates/engine/src/actions.rs
@@ -191,9 +191,13 @@ fn apply_step(s: &mut Session, id: DocId, step: &Step, log: &mut Vec<String>) ->
             return Ok(None);
         }
     };
-    // Steps that find nothing to do (no comments to flatten, …) aren't failures.
+    // Steps that find nothing to do (no comments to flatten, …) aren't failures. A removal step
+    // that didn't remove is: the file would be passed on as cleaned with the data still in it.
+    let removes = matches!(step, Step::RemoveHiddenInformation | Step::Sanitize);
     match s.apply(id, edit) {
         Ok(()) => log.push(step.label().to_string()),
+        Err(EditError::Redact(pdfcraft_redact::RedactError::NothingToApply)) if removes => log.push(format!("{}: nothing to remove", step.label())),
+        Err(e) if removes => return Err(e),
         Err(e) => log.push(format!("{}: {e}", step.label())),
     }
     Ok(None)
diff --git a/crates/engine/src/tests.rs b/crates/engine/src/tests.rs
index 2d6730544..217d8d166 100644
--- a/crates/engine/src/tests.rs
+++ b/crates/engine/src/tests.rs
@@ -4274,6 +4274,24 @@ fn actions_run_their_steps_on_files() {
     assert!(actions::run_on(&custom, "bad.pdf", Arc::new(b"nope".to_vec()), |_, _| {}).is_err());
 }
 
+/// A removal step that fails (here: a signed file can't be rewritten without its hidden data)
+/// fails the action, so the file is not passed on as cleaned.
+#[test]
+fn actions_fail_when_hidden_information_could_not_be_removed() {
+    let p12 = std::fs::read(concat!(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"), "/../sign/tests/data/ec-p256.p12")).unwrap();
+    let digital_id = sign::pkcs12::open(&p12, "test").unwrap();
+    let mut s = Session::new().with_clock(|| 1_800_000_000);
+    let id = s.open("fixture.pdf", None, Arc::new(fixture(2)), None).unwrap();
+    s.apply(id, Edit::SetInfo { key: "Author".into(), value: "Private Name".into() }).unwrap();
+    let saved = s.save_bytes(id).unwrap();
+    s.mark_saved(id, saved, None).unwrap();
+    let signed = s.sign(id, &digital_id, SignOptions { page: 1, ..SignOptions::default() }).unwrap();
+    let built = actions::builtin();
+    let sanitize = built.iter().find(|a| a.name == "Sanitize Documents").unwrap();
+    let e = actions::run_on(sanitize, "signed.pdf", signed, |_, _| {}).map(|r| r.log).unwrap_err();
+    assert!(e.starts_with("Sanitize document:"), "{e}");
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn exporting_office_files_keeps_images() {
     let mut s = Session::new();