Unlock PDF
Take the password off a PDF you can already open.
Drop a PDF
The one that asks for a password every time it opens, or refuses to print. You need the password for the first kind.
Guide: Two kinds of locked PDF3 min read
Two kinds of locked PDF
Some PDFs ask for a password every time they open. Bank statements, payslips and tax documents are usually sent this way, with the password written in the email or in the service's instructions. Type it once here and the copy you save opens without asking again — useful when the document has to be merged, compressed, printed by someone else or kept in an archive where nobody will remember the password in five years.
Other PDFs open normally but refuse to print, or will not let you select the text. Those restrictions come from a second password, the owner password, which the reader never asks for. Leave the field empty: the copy comes back with the restrictions lifted.
What it will not do
It does not guess passwords. A PDF protected with AES-256, which is what current software uses, cannot be opened by trying combinations in any reasonable time, and a tool that claims to crack one is either uploading the file or not telling the truth. If you have lost the password, ask whoever sent the document for a new copy.
The file and the password stay here
The document is opened by qpdf, a long-established open-source PDF program, running inside this tab. Neither the file nor the password is sent anywhere, which is the point for a payslip or a medical report. To put a password on a document instead, use Protect PDF; to send the unlocked copy, compress it first.
Frequently asked questions
Can it open a PDF whose password I have forgotten?
No. It removes a password you type, and it does not guess. A PDF protected with AES-256 cannot be opened by trying passwords in any reasonable time, and a site that promises otherwise is either sending your file somewhere or not telling the truth. If the document came from a bank or a government service, the password is usually a number printed in their instructions — often part of your ID or date of birth.
My PDF opens fine but will not let me print or copy. Do I need a password?
No. Those restrictions come from a second, owner password that the reader never asks you for. Drop the file with the password field empty and the copy comes back without restrictions. Only remove them from documents you are entitled to use that way.
Is my password sent anywhere?
No. The file and the password stay in this tab: qpdf, the same open-source program many command-line workflows use, runs inside your browser. You can check the page's network activity, or load it once and go offline before dropping the file.
Does unlocking change anything else in the document?
No. Pages, text, images, links, bookmarks and form fields come out as they went in; only the encryption is removed. The file is often a little smaller, because encrypted streams do not compress as well.
Why do other PDF tools here say the file is password-protected?
Because they need to read the pages, and a locked document cannot be read without its password. Unlock it here first, then take the unlocked copy to the tool you wanted — the buttons under the result carry it over without choosing the file again.