How to use Unlock PDF
- 1
Add the locked PDF
Drop one or more protected PDFs, up to 10 files of 50 MB each. Files that aren't protected are skipped.
- 2
Enter the open password
Type the password you normally use to view the file; it is checked on your device. Restriction-only files need none.
- 3
Press Unlock PDF
The encryption and every printing, copying and editing restriction are removed in one pass.
- 4
Save the copy
Download name-unlocked.pdf, or a ZIP of all files. The original on your disk stays protected.
Limits and Pro
Up to 10 PDFs per batch and 50 MB per file, all encryption types included.
Pro unlocks up to 500 PDFs at once, each up to 4 GB. See Pro
About Unlock PDF
Unlock PDF saves a decrypted copy of a document you are allowed to open, so it no longer asks for a password and no longer blocks printing, copying text or editing. Only the security layer is taken off: pages, fonts, images, bookmarks, links, attachments and form fields are left as they were, and the copy keeps the original's document title and properties. It handles every encryption method PDFs use in practice — 40- and 128-bit RC4 from old Acrobat versions as well as AES-128 and AES-256.
There are two situations. If a PDF shows a password prompt when you open it, it has an open (user) password, and you must type that password here; without it the content is mathematically scrambled and can't be read. If a PDF opens freely but greys out Print or Copy, it only has a permissions (owner) password, and it unlocks without asking for anything.
People use it for bank statements, payslips and utility bills that arrive locked with a date of birth or account number, so they can be archived, merged or uploaded to an accounting app without a prompt each time; and for their own old files whose restrictions get in the way. The tool doesn't guess, recover or crack passwords, and it won't help with documents you have no right to open. Once unlocked, the copy is readable by anyone who gets it, so keep it as carefully as the original.
Privacy
Decryption runs in qpdf, compiled to WebAssembly and executed in a Web Worker in this tab; the 1.3 MB engine is fetched from this site the first time you press Unlock PDF. The password you type and the decrypted pages stay in your browser's memory: nothing is uploaded, saved or logged, and closing the tab clears them.
Features
Remove open passwords
Save a copy of the PDF that opens without asking for a password.
Lift restrictions
Printing, copying and editing restrictions are removed along with the encryption.
Batch unlock
Unlock several PDFs at once and download them together as a ZIP.
Works with every scheme
Handles AES-256, AES-128 and older RC4-protected PDFs.