diff --git a/src/api/form/PDFForm.ts b/src/api/form/PDFForm.ts
index e92c833fc..f9e6ed9b6 100644
--- a/src/api/form/PDFForm.ts
+++ b/src/api/form/PDFForm.ts
@@ -584,12 +584,14 @@ export default class PDFForm {
 
     for (let i = 0, len = widgets.length; i < len; i++) {
       const widget = widgets[i];
-      const widgetRef = this.findWidgetAppearanceRef(field, widget);
+      const widgetRef = this.doc.context.getObjectRef(widget.dict);
 
       const page = this.findWidgetPage(widget);
       pages.add(page);
 
-      page.node.removeAnnot(widgetRef);
+      if (widgetRef !== undefined) {
+        page.node.removeAnnot(widgetRef);
+      }
     }
 
     pages.forEach((page) => page.node.removeAnnot(field.ref));