Password protected PDFs are everywhere: bank and card statements, payslips, tax documents, supplier price lists, signed contracts. The protection makes sense when the file travels, but once it is safely on your own computer, typing the password every time or being unable to print a page you are allowed to print is just friction.
This tool removes the password or the restrictions from a PDF and gives you an unprotected copy. It is for files you own or have permission to unlock. It does not crack, guess or bypass a password you do not know: if a PDF needs a password to open, you must type it.
Two kinds of PDF password
A PDF can carry two different passwords, and they behave very differently. Knowing which one you have explains what the tool needs from you.
| Open password (user password) | Permissions password (owner password) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you notice | The PDF asks for a password before showing anything | The PDF opens normally, but printing, copying text or editing is blocked or grayed out |
| What it protects | The content itself: without the password the file cannot be read | Only the permissions; the content is readable by anyone |
| What this tool needs | The open password, typed in the password field | Nothing: leave the password field empty |
| Result | A copy that opens without a password | A copy with printing, copying and editing allowed |
A file can have both: an open password for reading and a separate owner password for permissions. In that case, typing the open password is enough. The permissions are removed along with it.
How PDF protection works, briefly
An open password really encrypts the content: every page, image and font in the file is scrambled, and only the right password produces the key to read it. Older PDFs used RC4 encryption with 40 or 128 bit keys, newer ones use AES with 128 or 256 bit keys. With a strong password and AES-256, there is no practical way in for someone who does not know the password, which is exactly why no honest tool can recover a forgotten open password.
A permissions password is a different thing. The file is still encrypted, but with an empty open password, so every reader can decrypt it. The permissions (no printing, no copying, no editing) are flags that well-behaved PDF readers agree to respect. They stop casual copying, not a determined person, which is why removing them needs no password at all.
How to remove a password from a PDF
- Drag the PDF onto the box above or click to choose it. A note appears if the file does not seem to be protected at all, in which case there may be nothing to remove.
- If the PDF asks for a password when you open it, type that password in PDF password. Click Show to check what you typed. Passwords are case sensitive.
- If the PDF opens without a password and only blocks printing or copying, leave the field empty.
- Click Unlock PDF. The bar shows the upload, your place in line and the progress.
- When Your file is ready appears, the unlocked copy downloads automatically, with
-unlockedor a similar ending added to the name. Use Download PDF if it does not start. - Open the new file. It should open without a password, and printing and copying should work.
If the password is wrong, the conversion stops with a clear message and nothing is downloaded. Check the password and try again.
Only unlock files you are entitled to unlock
Removing protection is legitimate in many everyday situations and wrong in others. Good reasons include:
- Your own bank, card or payroll statements, which the sender protected for the journey to your inbox.
- Your own documents, where you set a password years ago and want a working copy.
- Files a colleague or client sent with a password they shared with you, for use in your work together.
- Documents where the sender has confirmed that printing or copying is fine, but the restriction was left on by default.
It is not acceptable to remove protection from a file you obtained without permission, or to strip restrictions from material that someone protected on purpose, such as a paid ebook, a licensed report or a confidential document you were only allowed to read. If a supplier or partner set print or copy restrictions deliberately, ask them for an unrestricted copy rather than removing the restrictions yourself. Copyright and contract terms still apply to an unlocked file.
What happens to your file and password
Unlike most PDF tools on this site, which run in your browser, unlocking needs to rewrite the PDF's encryption on a server. The file and, if you typed one, the password are sent together over HTTPS to our conversion server. The password is used to open the file for this one job and goes with the job when it ends. The upload is deleted as soon as the job ends, and the unlocked copy 30 minutes after it is ready. Nothing else is sent, and you do not need an account.
An unlocked copy has no protection at all, so treat it accordingly: keep it in a private folder, and do not email it in place of the protected original.
Common situations
A bank statement that asks for your date of birth
Some banks, card issuers and payroll providers protect statements with a password made from your details, such as a date of birth or the last digits of an account or ID number. The email that delivered the statement usually explains the format. Type it exactly as described, unlock the file, and the copy opens directly in accounting tools or in our in-browser bank statement converter.
A supplier price list that blocks copying
A wholesale catalog opens fine but will not let you select text, which makes building product listings slow. If the supplier is happy for you to reuse the data, unlock the copy and pull the tables into a spreadsheet with PDF to Excel. For suppliers that run their own online store, it is often easier to skip the PDF altogether: AM Jarvis Product Importer copies products from public Shopify and WooCommerce stores into your store with variants, images and prices, assuming you have the right to sell and describe those products.
A form you need to fill in, but editing is blocked
Some PDF forms arrive with editing locked, so the fields will not accept typing in your viewer. If the sender expects you to fill it in, unlocking removes the restriction and the form works in any PDF reader. Fill it in and sign it in the PDF editor, then send it back.
Your own file with a forgotten permissions password
You protected a price sheet against editing in 2022 and no longer remember the owner password. Because owner passwords only restrict permissions, leave the field empty and the tool gives you an editable copy. Note the difference: if you have forgotten an open password, nothing on this page can help, by design.
Unlocking a batch of statements
Accountants and bookkeepers often receive 12 monthly statements, each with the same password. The tool takes one file per job, so the routine is:
- Unlock the first statement, check it opens, and click Convert another file.
- Drop the next file. The password field starts empty for every new file, so type the password again (or paste it from a password manager).
- When all 12 are done, join them in month order with Merge PDF, so the year is in one document.
- Keep the merged file in a private folder, and delete the loose unlocked copies.
Check the unlocked copy
- Open it from your downloads folder: it should open without asking for anything.
- Try to select and copy a line of text, and open the print dialog. Both should work.
- Compare the page count with the original.
- Rename it clearly, for example
statement-2026-09-unlocked.pdf, so you never send it by mistake instead of the protected original.
Other ways to remove a PDF password
- Chrome or Edge: open the PDF in the browser, type the password, then print it with Save as PDF as the printer. The new file has no password. Links and form fields may be lost, and this does not work when printing is restricted.
- Preview on a Mac: open the PDF, type the password, then File > Export as PDF. Make sure Encrypt is not ticked.
- Adobe Acrobat Pro (paid): All tools > Protect a PDF, then remove security. It asks for the permissions password if one was set.
- This tool: works the same on Windows, Mac, Chromebook and phones, keeps links and form fields, and also removes permission restrictions that block printing.
After unlocking
An unprotected PDF works with every other tool. Common next steps are converting it with PDF to Word, combining several statements into one file with Merge PDF, or filling and signing it in the PDF editor. If the file needs protection again for sending, add a new password with Protect PDF.
Troubleshooting
"The password is not correct"
Check capital letters, and whether Caps Lock is on. If you pasted the password from an email, an invisible space at the start or end is a common culprit: click Show and look. Passwords made from dates need the exact format the sender used, for example DDMMYYYY versus YYYYMMDD.
"This PDF does not seem to have a password or restrictions"
The tool checked the file in your browser before uploading and found no encryption. If it opens and prints normally, there is nothing to remove. If something is still blocked, it may be a feature of your PDF viewer, not of the file.
"This file could not be used"
The file is damaged or not a PDF. Download it again from the original email or website and retry.
The downloaded copy still asks for a password
Check that you opened the new file and not the original: both may have similar names in your downloads folder, and the unlocked one is usually the newest. Sort the folder by date added. If the new file really asks for a password, convert the original again and watch for an error message.
A PDF protected with a certificate or DRM
Some company documents are locked with a digital certificate or a rights management service instead of a password. These cannot be opened here. Ask the sender for an unprotected copy.
Daily limit reached or converter unavailable
The free daily count resets tomorrow. If the converter is paused for maintenance, click Check again after a minute.
Limits to know about
- A PDF that needs a password to open can only be unlocked with that password. There is no password recovery or guessing.
- Certificate and DRM protected PDFs are not supported.
- One file per job, up to the size shown in the drop box.
- The unlocked copy is deleted from our server 30 minutes after it is ready.