Remove a password from a PDF
A free way to remove a password from a PDF with no upload: the file and the password stay in this browser tab. Type the password that opens the document and a copy is saved without it.
Type the password that opens the file and a copy is saved without it.
In detail
Unlock PDF removes the password from a document you can already open. Drop the file, type the password a reader asks for, and a copy is written with no encryption dictionary in it at all. Nothing is re-rendered along the way, so text stays selectable, fonts stay embedded, and every image keeps the bytes it arrived with. The file on your disk is never touched.
What it will not do is open a file whose password nobody has. There is no guessing here of any kind. A PDF can also carry an owner password that only restricts printing, copying and editing, and a file protected that way opens with no prompt at all: leave the field empty and unlock it anyway. The copy that comes out carries no protection, so keep it where you would keep an unlocked document.
Remove a password from a PDF at a glance
- Input
- One password-protected PDF, plus the password that opens it
- Output
- A copy of the same PDF with no password on it
- What it does
- Says whether a file is password-protected before you type anything
- Takes the open password, or an empty one for owner-restricted files
- Shows the password you typed, so a pasted string can be checked
- Writes a copy with no encryption on it at all
- Nothing is re-rendered: text, fonts and images are untouched
- Draws the first page of the saved copy as proof that it opens
- Page count and rotation-aware page sizes, read before unlocking
- Who it is for
- Anyone retyping a password every time they open a document they already own.
- Limits
- The password is required. A file whose password nobody has cannot be opened here.
- A few encryption methods are not implemented, and those are named rather than blamed on the password.
- A digital signature does not survive the file being written again, so a signed document loses its signature.
- The pages themselves are not changed in any way.
- Privacy
- Runs entirely in your browser: neither the PDF nor the password is uploaded, and nothing is kept after you close the tab.
How to remove a password from a PDF
- Drop the PDF Drag the file onto the page, or browse for it. It is read in your browser and the tool says whether there is a password on it at all.
- Read what the file says The document panel names the file and its size, counts the pages, gives the size a reader shows them at, and marks the document as password-protected or not.
- Type the password Enter the password that opens the file. The button beside the field shows what you typed, so a paste can be checked. Enter submits.
- Remove it and save Press Remove the password and save. A copy with no encryption on it is written and handed to you as a download, and the original file on your disk is left alone.
- See that it opened The first page of the saved copy is drawn on the page from the saved bytes, which is the proof that the copy opens with no password.
Remove a password from a PDF: common questions
Can this open a PDF when I do not know the password?
No, and it does not try. Removing a password requires the password: what you type is handed to the decryption routine, and if it is not the one the file was locked with, the library refuses and nothing is written. There is no guessing, dictionary or recovery of any kind here.
What if the PDF opens without a prompt but will not let me print?
Leave the password field empty and unlock it anyway. That file carries an owner password, which restricts printing, copying and editing rather than opening, and its open password is the empty string. The copy that comes out has those restrictions gone with it.
Is my password sent anywhere?
No. The decryption runs in your browser tab, on bytes read from the file you dropped, so neither the password nor the document leaves the page. Nothing is remembered once you close the tab, and the field is emptied when you clear the file.
Is the unlocked copy still protected in any way?
No, and that is the whole point of it. The saved copy carries no encryption at all, so anyone who has the file can open it. Keep it where you would keep an unlocked document, and keep the original if you still need the protected version.
Why does it say the password did not open this file when I am sure it is right?
Usually a character that looks like another one, or a trailing space that came along with a paste — the reveal button shows exactly what is in the field. Some files use an encryption method this tool does not implement, and those are reported as such rather than blamed on the password. A file that is damaged or only partly downloaded is reported as unreadable instead.