Remove PDF Password
Remove the open password from a PDF you own, so it opens without a prompt. Supports AES-256 and RC4 protected files, processed locally.
Drop your PDF file here
or click to browse files
Remove the open password from a PDF so that it opens without a prompt - for example an invoice, a bank statement or a booking confirmation that you want to archive, print or search without typing the password every time. Enter the current password and the tool writes a new, unprotected copy.
This tool only unlocks files whose password you already know: it decrypts locally with the password you supply, so it is not a password cracker and never pretends to be one. It handles AES-256 and RC4 protected documents; AES-128 files and PDFs that store their objects in compressed streams cannot be decrypted safely in the browser, and those are reported as an explicit error rather than being silently turned into a damaged file. If you hit that case, open the document once in a desktop reader and save it again without protection.
How to remove a password from a PDF
Add the protected PDF
Enter its current password
Download the unlocked copy
FAQ
Which protected PDFs can be unlocked?
Files encrypted with AES-256 (the modern standard) and older RC4 files. AES-128 documents are detected and refused with a clear message, because decrypting them here would risk handing you a damaged document.
Can this tool crack a password I do not know?
No. It uses the password you type to decrypt the file locally. A PDF password cannot be recovered by guessing here - and if it could, the encryption would be worthless.
What does "compressed object streams" mean in the error?
Some PDFs pack their internal objects into streams that are themselves encrypted. A browser-based parser cannot read those before decrypting, so part of the document would already be lost. Open such a file once in a desktop reader and save it without protection first.
Is the password or the document uploaded?
No. Both stay in your browser memory, which matters because an unlocked PDF is often a bank statement, a contract or an identity document.
What happens to the original file?
Nothing. The copy on your disk is not modified; you simply get a second, unprotected file to download.
The file still asks for a password after unlocking - why?
That usually means the document was protected with a permissions (owner) password rather than an open password, and some viewers still show a prompt. If the message says the PDF was not protected at all, you can already open, print and copy it freely.
At a glance
| Input | |
|---|---|
| Multiple files | No |
| Where it runs | In your browser - files are never uploaded |
| Works offline | Yes — once the page has loaded |
| Price | Free, no sign-up, no watermark |
PDF versions, standards and compatibility
PDF 1.4 is readable by essentially everything and is the safe default for forms and general sharing. PDF 1.7 added better compression and is what most modern software writes. PDF/A is an archival variant that embeds every font and forbids outside dependencies so the file will still render identically in twenty years - archive offices and some government submissions require it, and it is a poor choice for everyday files because it is larger. Encrypted PDFs need the protection removed before any other tool can touch them, and a permissions (owner) password is weaker than an open password: it is meant to discourage printing and copying, not to keep anyone out.
Keeping text selectable and searchable
A PDF can hold real text or a picture of text, and the difference matters: real text can be selected, searched, copied and read aloud, while a scanned page cannot until someone runs OCR on it. Many "reduce size" tools silently flatten everything into images, which shrinks the file but destroys searchability and makes the text blurry when zoomed. If a document needs to stay usable - contracts, manuals, anything you may need to search later - keep text as text and compress only the images. If you are starting from a scan, run OCR first, then compress.