Unlock PDF
Type the password you already know once, and save a copy that opens without it — or free a PDF that blocks printing and copying.
Drop a PDF here
or click to browse
Files are processed on your device and never uploaded.
This tool does not crack or guess passwords. To remove an open password you must type the password you already know. Only unlock documents you own or have permission to modify.
Works in your browser. No account needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can this tool unlock a PDF if I don’t know the password?
No. It does not guess, crack or recover passwords, and no honest tool can do that quickly for a modern PDF: files protected with AES-256 cannot be opened without the password. If you have lost it, ask whoever sent the document for an unprotected copy or the password.
Why do I have to type a password I already know?
Because the password is the key that decrypts the file. Typing it once here saves a copy with the encryption removed, so you — and anyone you are allowed to share it with — can open it without the password from then on. That is handy for bank statements, payslips and bills that arrive password-protected every month.
My PDF opens fine but will not let me print or copy text. Can this help?
Yes. Those limits are owner restrictions: the file is encrypted with an empty open password plus flags that tell your reader to block printing, copying or editing. The tool reads the file, lists what it restricts, and saves a copy without the encryption, so the restrictions go with it.
Is it legal to remove a PDF password?
Removing protection from your own documents, or ones you have permission to modify, is ordinary document handling. Removing protection from someone else’s document to get around their copyright or a contract may not be. Only unlock files you have the right to change, and respect the reason someone protected them.
Is my PDF or password uploaded anywhere?
No. The decryption runs inside your browser with a self-hosted copy of the open-source qpdf engine, which only loads when you use the tool. Neither the file nor the password is sent to any server, and nothing is kept once you close the tab.
Does unlocking change the content or quality of the PDF?
No. Only the encryption layer is removed. Text, images, fonts, links, bookmarks and form fields are copied across unchanged, and the pages look exactly as they did. Digital signatures may show as changed, because the file’s bytes are rewritten.
About this tool
PDFs get locked in two different ways, and this tool handles both. An open password (also called a user password) stops the file opening at all until you type it — banks, payroll systems and phone companies use this for statements they email you. Owner restrictions are subtler: the file opens normally, but your reader refuses to print it, copy text from it or edit it. When you drop a file in, the tool tells you which kind it is and, for restrictions, exactly what is being blocked.
Be clear about what it will not do: it cannot crack, guess or recover a password you do not know. For an open password you must type the one you already have; the tool uses it to decrypt the document and saves a copy that opens without it. That is the whole trick, and it is useful — no more typing your date of birth every time you open last month’s statement, and no password to pass on when you file it with an accountant.
Restriction-only PDFs are different, because they already open without a password. The encryption there exists only to carry permission flags that readers are asked to obey. Saving a decrypted copy drops those flags, so you can print a form you were sent, copy a paragraph into your notes or combine the pages with other documents. Please use this only on documents you own or have permission to modify; restrictions are sometimes there for a reason, such as licensing terms.
Everything happens in your browser. The first time you use the tool it loads qpdf, a long-established open-source PDF library, compiled to WebAssembly and served from this site rather than a third-party CDN. The document and the password stay on your device, which matters because the files people unlock are exactly the ones that carry account numbers, salaries and personal details. To add a password rather than remove one, use Protect PDF.