Unlock PDF removes protection from a PDF and saves an unprotected copy. If the PDF needs a password to open, enter it and the tool decrypts the file. If it opens freely but blocks printing, copying or editing, the restrictions can be removed without a password. It does not crack or guess passwords, and a wrong password is reported clearly. Everything runs in your browser using a PDF engine compiled to WebAssembly, so your file and password are never uploaded.
Made for everyone. Typical uses:
A bank statement locked with the password you chose is unlocked by entering that password once, and the saved copy opens without one. A report that opens freely but will not let you print is unlocked without any password because it only has permission restrictions.
Without the correct open password, the contents stay encrypted; there is no legitimate way to recover a lost password from a modern encrypted PDF. Use the tool only on files you own or have the right to change. Files up to 200 MB are supported, and very old or unusual encryption may not be handled.
Accuracy: Files are processed with established open-source libraries and tested with real PDFs. Open the result and check it before you send or publish it.
Expert Tip
Unlock first, do your editing, then protect the finished file again with a new password before you send it.
People say "password-protected PDF" for two different things, and the difference decides whether this tool can help. A user password (also called an open password) is required to view the file at all. An owner password (or permissions password) lets anyone open the file but stops them printing, copying text or editing.
This tool handles both, honestly. If the PDF needs a password to open, you enter that password and the tool saves an unprotected copy. If it opens freely but restricts printing, copying or editing, the restrictions are removed without a password. What it never does is guess, crack or bypass a password you do not have: without the correct open password the contents stay encrypted.
The tool is for files you own or have the right to change. Typical situations are a bank statement you protected yourself and now want to archive without retyping the password each time, a report a colleague sent you with printing disabled by default, a scanned form you need to merge with other documents, or an old file whose password you remember but whose viewer is no longer available.
Removing protection from someone else's document without permission can breach copyright or terms of use. Use the tool only where you are entitled to.
Many PDF tools cannot work on encrypted files, because the page content is scrambled until it is decrypted. Merging, splitting, rotating, compressing and converting all fail or give an error message on a protected file. Unlocking first removes the obstacle.
A wrong password is reported clearly and nothing is saved. Check the basics: passwords are case-sensitive, keyboard layout matters if you typed a symbol, and a password with a trailing space is a different password. If the document came from a company or a service, the password is often something they sent separately, such as a date of birth or an account number in a specific format, so read the email or letter that came with it.
There is no legitimate way to recover a lost open password from a modern encrypted PDF. AES-256 encryption is designed to be unbreakable without the key. If you set the password yourself and lost it, the realistic options are to find an unprotected copy, ask the sender for a new one, or recreate the document.
Unlocking runs in your browser using a PDF engine compiled to WebAssembly. Your file and your password are never sent to a server, which is important because both are sensitive. The unlocked copy is a new file: the original stays as it was, still protected.
Once you have finished, remember that the unlocked copy is no longer protected. If it contains personal data, re-lock it with PDF Password Protector before sending it on. The guide to how to password protect a PDF covers choosing a strong password and the permission settings.
Files up to 200 MB are supported. Some very old or unusual encryption schemes may not be handled, and PDFs damaged in transit cannot be repaired by unlocking. If a file will not open in any viewer, download or export it again from its source before trying here.
The two kinds of PDF protection, how to remove each when you have the right to, why a lost password cannot be recovered, and how to keep the file private while you do it.
Add a real password to a PDF in your browser, learn what open passwords and permission passwords actually protect, and how to unlock a PDF you own.
Combine PDFs into one file, extract pages, split by ranges or every N pages, fix order and orientation, and keep the result small and private.
Explore more in PDF Tools, read the guides and articles, or see how we test our tools.
Add password protection to PDF files.
Best for sending payslips, tax returns or medical letters by email
Combine multiple PDF files into one.
Best for combining a cover letter, CV and certificates into one application PDF
Reduce PDF file size to a target you set, or with lossless optimizing or a smaller image-based copy.
Best for getting a PDF under the size cap of a job, visa, school or government upload form
Extract specific pages from a PDF file.
Best for sending only the relevant pages of a long report or contract
Edit PDF metadata properties.
Best for correcting the author name on a PDF before distributing it
Shrink a PDF to under 1 MB with the least quality loss.
Best for submitting an assignment or thesis chapter to a portal with a 1 MB cap