Unlock PDF online

If you know a PDF's password, you can take it off here. Type the password once, click Unlock, and download a copy that opens without it. You won't have to type the password every time you open the file.

This works with the password you already have. The tool never guesses, cracks or recovers a password. If a PDF asks for one you don't know, only the person who set it can help.

It opens the common kinds of PDF password lock:

• AES-256, the current standard for PDF encryption
• AES-128, an older 128-bit standard
• RC4, the oldest kind, still found on older files

Typed the wrong password? You'll see a clear message, and your PDF stays loaded. Check for capital letters and extra spaces, then type it again.

The unlocked copy works like any other PDF. You can print it, send it, or combine it with other PDFs without typing a password.

Every unlocked copy is checked before you download it

After unlocking, the tool opens the new copy without a password and counts its pages. It says it's done only when the copy opens and has every page of the original.

A short readout then shows what you got: no password to open, what's allowed, the number of pages and the file size.

A locked PDF is a PDF with a password on it. There are two kinds of PDF password, and each one locks something different:

• A password to open, also called a user password, stops the file from opening. The content is encrypted, so nobody can read it without the password.
• An owner password, also called a permissions password, lets the file open but blocks actions like printing, copying or editing.

A PDF can have both. The owner password is the one that sets the limits, but you don't need to know it to remove them here.

When you add a PDF, the tool tells you which case you're in before you unlock anything:

• It needs a password to open. You also see the kind of encryption, such as AES-256 or RC4.
• It opens without a password, but blocks printing, copying or editing. You see exactly which actions are blocked.
• It isn't locked. It already opens and prints with no password, so there's nothing to remove.
• Its lock type isn't supported, such as a lock tied to a digital certificate instead of a password.

Add the PDF and click Unlock. You don't need a password for this. A PDF that opens on its own but blocks printing, copying or editing has an owner password, and the tool removes its limits without asking for it.

These limits explain a PDF that opens fine but won't let you do something. The tool lists what your file blocks, such as:

• Printing, or printing at full quality
• Copying text and images
• Changing the content
• Adding comments or filling in form fields
• Adding, removing or rotating pages

The unlocked copy has no limits, so PDF apps let you print it, copy from it and edit it like any other file.

Only remove limits from files you have the right to edit, such as your own documents or files the owner said you can change.

Nothing is uploaded. Your PDF is unlocked right on your phone or computer, so the file and its password never leave your device.

Many online unlock tools send your PDF to their server, and the password goes with it. Here, neither one is sent anywhere. That matters for the files people usually lock, such as bank statements, payslips and ID documents.

Your password isn't saved or sent anywhere. It's only used to open your file.

There's nothing to download or install. The page works in your web browser, like any other website.

This PDF password remover is free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no usage cap. You don't need paid PDF software or an app. Here's what you get:

• Unlock one PDF at a time, up to 100 MB.
• Your pages, text, images and form fields stay as they are.
• The title, author and other document details are kept.
• The unlocked copy keeps your file's name, like statement-unlocked.pdf.
• Your original PDF isn't changed. You get a new, unlocked copy.
• It works in the browser on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.