Unlock a PDF: remove the password

How it works

Tap or click the box to select your PDF, then type the password the file asks for when it opens. A typical case: the monthly statement you download from online banking, or the pay stub your employer sends, is a PDF that asks for a password every time. Type it here once and press "Remove password"; the downloaded file ends in -unlocked.pdf and opens straight away, ready to upload to a tax portal, a loan application or your accountant. Some PDFs open without a password but refuse to print, copy text or accept edits. For those, leave the box empty: the tool lifts the restrictions without a password. The result line tells you how the file was encrypted (for example AES-256), which password opened it and which restrictions were removed. If the password is wrong, no file is produced and the tool says so; check capital letters and your keyboard layout. This tool does not guess or crack passwords: a file whose open password you do not know stays locked.

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What is PDF open password (user password)?

The open password is called the user password in the PDF standard. Every page, font and text string in the file is encrypted with a key derived from it, so nothing can be shown until the password is typed. The key itself is not stored in the file; the reader recomputes it from your password and compares it with a check value saved in the file. That is why removing this kind of protection needs the password once. The tool computes the key, decrypts every object and deletes the encryption entry, leaving a normal PDF.

What is PDF permissions password (owner password)?

The permissions password is the owner password in the PDF standard. It does not stop anyone from opening the file; it tells the reader app that printing, copying text, adding pages or filling in forms is switched off. Such files are usually encrypted with an empty user password, which means the content is readable by anyone and the restriction depends on the app choosing to obey it. The tool tries the empty password first; if the file opens that way, the restriction flags are removed without asking you for anything.

What is the difference between an open password and a permissions password?

An open password really encrypts the content: without it the pages cannot be read, and this tool cannot open the file either. A permissions password hides nothing; it only adds a list of forbidden actions such as printing, copying or editing, and anyone can open the file. One PDF can have both. If the file asks for a password when it opens, type that password in the box. If it opens without asking but will not print, leave the box empty. Either way, the downloaded file has no password and no restrictions left.

What if you do not know the password?

Then this tool cannot help, and that is by design. A PDF with an open password is encrypted with AES or RC4, and the key cannot be computed without the password. With AES-256, guessing a password that is not very short would take years. Online services that promise to unlock PDFs without a password mostly work only on files that open freely and just block printing; this tool does that part too, without a password.

If you forgot the password, ask whoever sent the file. Banks and employers usually explain how the password is built (often in the email or a text message) and can send the document again. If you made the file yourself, the unprotected original may still be on your computer or in your cloud storage.

Which encrypted PDFs can be unlocked?

Supported: files protected with the standard PDF password method. That covers 40-bit and 128-bit RC4 used by older programs, AES-128 from Acrobat 7 onwards, and AES-256 from Acrobat X and PDF 2.0. The result line names the method, which also tells you roughly how old the program that made the file is.

Not supported: files encrypted with a digital certificate instead of a password (they open only with a specific person's certificate) and server-based rights management such as Adobe's enterprise protection. The tool reports those as a non-standard method. In an unlocked file, pages, fonts, form fields and bookmarks stay exactly as they were; only the encryption entry is removed.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove a password from a PDF?

Select the file on this page, type the password it asks for and press "Remove password". The downloaded copy has the same content without the password. In Acrobat the same job is under File › Properties › Security › No Security, which needs the paid version; printing the PDF to "Save as PDF" in Chrome also works unless printing is restricted.

Can I unlock a PDF without the password?

Not if it asks for a password when it opens: the content is encrypted, and this tool does not try to crack passwords. If the file opens but blocks printing or copying, yes: leave the password box empty and the restrictions are removed. Otherwise ask the sender for the password.

Does anything else change in the unlocked file?

Nothing you can see: pages, text, images, form fields and bookmarks stay the same. The encryption entry is deleted and the file is rewritten, so the size may change by a few kilobytes. A digital signature in the file will show as invalid afterwards, because the document has changed.

Is my file or my password sent anywhere?

No. Decryption runs entirely in your browser on your own device; neither the file nor the password you type is sent to a server. Once the page has loaded, the tool keeps working even without an internet connection. On a shared computer, clear the password box when you are done.