# PII Categories

Control which PII categories are redacted per job with the `pii_categories` field on `POST /v1/jobs`.

## Request format

`pii_categories` is sent as a JSON array string in multipart form data.

Example:

```text
["Person","Email","PhoneNumber","Address"]
```

## Supported categories

- `Person`
- `Email`
- `PhoneNumber`
- `Address`
- `Organization`
- `Date`
- `IBAN`
- `CreditCard`

## Behavior when omitted

If you omit `pii_categories`, account-level defaults from dashboard preferences are applied.

## Pinning specific terms

Categories control *what kinds* of data are detected. To force a specific term
to always be redacted (even if the AI misses it), or to keep a specific term
visible (even if the AI flags it), use `pii_included_terms` / `pii_excluded_terms`.
See [Redaction rules](https://www.redact-pdf.ai/docs/guides/redaction-rules.md).

## Selection strategy

- Start broad in regulated environments.
- Narrow categories only when false positives impact workflows.
- Validate output quality on representative real documents before production rollout.

## Example request

```bash
curl -sS -X POST "https://www.redact-pdf.ai/v1/jobs" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F 'files=@/absolute/path/report.pdf;type=application/pdf' \
  -F 'pii_categories=["Person","Email","Organization","Date"]'
```