Unlock PDF: Remove a PDF Password
Save a copy of a protected PDF that opens without a password. It's decrypted in your browser with qpdf.
or drop it here
Accepts: PDF
Converted on this device. Your files are never uploaded.
Two kinds of PDF password
An open password (the user password) is needed to view the file at all. A permissions password (the owner password) lets the file open but limits what you can do, such as printing or copying text.
If the file asks for a password when you open it, type it here. If it opens without one and only blocks printing or copying, it's unlocked without asking for anything. Either way you get a PDF with no password and no restrictions.
It can't recover a forgotten password
This tool doesn't guess or crack passwords. Just as a PDF viewer can't open the file without its open password, this page can't unlock it either.
Only unlock files you have the right to change, such as your own documents or statements sent to you. Restrictions someone else set may be there for a reason.
How it works in the browser
The page runs qpdf, an open-source PDF tool, compiled to WebAssembly. Your file and password stay on your device: they aren't sent to a server or stored.
The pages are kept exactly as they are; only the encryption is removed.
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Questions
I forgot the password. Can you unlock it?
No. You need the password to open the file. Ask whoever sent it, or check the email or letter that came with it for how the password is formed.
Why unlock a PDF at all?
Some tools, including Merge PDF, Split PDF and PDF to JPG here, can't open a file that needs a password. An unlocked copy also saves typing the password every time.
Is the unlocked copy safe to keep?
Anyone who gets the file can now open it, so keep it somewhere private or delete it when you're done. Protect PDF can add a new password.
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