Unlock a PDF
Remove the encryption from a PDF you can already open. Files that only carry restrictions — no printing, no copying — unlock with no password at all; files that ask for a password to open need it. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is cracked: this takes off encryption you have the right to take off.
Drag a PDF here, or click to browse
Encrypted and decrypted locally — the file and the password never leave your browser
Worked example: the report that will not print
A supplier's 60-page spec opens fine but every viewer greys out Print and the text will not select. Upload it: the summary shows it is AES-128 encrypted, opens without a password, with "no printing, no copying" restrictions. One click removes them, the check confirms 60 pages and the original bookmarks are still there, and the download prints.
Frequently asked questions
Can this remove a password I do not know?
No. This tool removes the encryption from a PDF you can already open — it does not guess, crack or brute-force anything. If the file asks for a password to open and you do not have it, nothing here will help, and we would rather say so than pretend.
Why did my file unlock without a password?
Most "locked" PDFs only carry restrictions — no printing, no copying — and no open password at all. Every viewer opens them silently; the restrictions are flags the viewer agrees to honour. Removing them needs no password, which is why a file that was refusing to print can be fixed in one click.
Is the file uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is decrypted by pdf-lib in your browser, and the password never leaves your machine. The unlocked file is built locally and downloaded straight from memory.
What is kept, and what changes?
Everything is kept — pages, bookmarks, links, form fields, metadata. The only thing removed is the encryption dictionary, so the output opens in any viewer with no prompt and no restrictions.
Am I allowed to do this?
Use it on documents you own or have the right to modify — your own files, or ones whose owner has given you the password. Restrictions on someone else’s document are their choice to make.