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Unlock PDF, without the upload.

Removes a password you can enter, and print or edit restrictions. Your PDF is opened here, on this device.

  • Free, no sign-up
  • Needs the password if it has one
  • Your original is untouched

Drop a PDF to unlock

or choose from your computer paste with Ctrl V

Ready · PDF files · several at once0 bytes uploaded, ever

How to unlock a PDF

  1. Add your PDF

    Drop it above or choose it.

  2. Press Unlock

    If the file needs a password, its row asks for it. If it only has print or edit limits, the row asks before removing them.

  3. Download the copy

    Save the copy. Your original stays as it was.

What stays and what doesn't

The copy is the same file with the lock taken off. This is all that changes:

  • the password

A digital signature is removed, only after you say so: any change to a signed file breaks the signature, so the file is held back until you choose to continue.

Print, copy and edit restrictions are lifted, only after you say so.

When it won't run

Five things stop a run before it writes anything, and each is said on the file's row. A PDF that needs a password asks for it there, and a wrong password is refused with a sentence that says so. A digitally signed PDF is held back until you choose to continue, because unlocking it would break the signature. A file that cannot be read is reported as damaged. A job too large for this device says so, and in every case nothing is changed and your original stays as it was.

  • The PDF opens without a password, but its owner has switched off printing, copying or editing. Unlocking it removes those limits.Remove the restrictions and continue
  • This PDF isn't locked, so there is nothing to unlock. Your file is unchanged.

Unlocking a PDF: what to expect

Unlock does two different jobs. A PDF with a password to open needs that password: add the file, press Unlock, and its row asks for it. Once the file opens, the copy you save carries no password at all, so anyone can open it.

Some PDFs open freely but forbid printing, copying or editing. Whoever made the file set those limits. If your file has them, the row says so and asks before it takes them off. Only continue if you have the right to change the file.

Nothing here guesses or cracks a password. If you have forgotten it there is no way past it, and a wrong one is refused with a sentence that says so. A file with neither a password nor limits comes back unchanged with a line saying why. The copy is named after your file with -unlocked added.

Questions

Are my PDFs uploaded?

No. Your PDFs are processed inside your browser, on your own phone or computer, and saved straight from this page. The reading at the top of the page counts every byte sent, and it stays at 0 B.

What can this unlock?

Three cases. A PDF with a password to open: type the password and you get a copy that opens without one. A PDF that opens freely but forbids printing, copying or editing: the restrictions are removed after you say so. A PDF with neither: your file comes back unchanged.

Can it open a PDF if I forgot the password?

No. There is no way past an open password except the password. Nothing here guesses passwords.

Is it okay to remove restrictions?

Only do it for files you have the right to change.

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