Remove a PDF password
Remove a password you already know, so the PDF opens without one.
Drop your file here
Processed securely and deleted within the hour.
What this tool does
If you have a PDF that asks for a password every time you open it, and you know that password, this removes it. You supply the password, we open the document with it and save a copy without encryption.
What it deliberately does not do
It does not break passwords. If you cannot open the file, this tool cannot open it either, and there is no "try harder" setting. That is a deliberate choice rather than a technical limit: a service that strips access controls from documents its users cannot open is a very different thing, legally and ethically, from one that removes a password its user already knows.
If you have genuinely lost the password to your own document, the honest answer is that recovery means brute force, which for a modern AES-encrypted PDF is not practical.
Two kinds of PDF password
PDFs can carry two separate passwords, and confusing them causes most of the frustration here. The user password is the one that stops the file opening. The owner password allows opening but restricts printing, copying or editing. Enter whichever one you have.
After unlocking
The result opens without a password for anyone who has it. If you are removing protection only to edit or merge, consider adding it back afterwards with Protect PDF before you send the file anywhere.
About your password
It is used to open the file for the few seconds the conversion takes and is never written to disk or logged. The document itself is processed in its own directory and deleted as soon as your download has been sent.
Common questions
Can you unlock a PDF without the password?
No. If you cannot open it, neither can we. This tool removes a password you already know.
What if I only have the owner password?
That works. Enter whichever password you have — the one that opens the file, or the one that lifts printing and copying limits.
Is my password stored?
No. It is used to open the document and then discarded. It is never logged.
Is this legal?
Removing protection from your own documents is fine. Removing it from documents you have no right to access is not, which is why the tool requires the password.
Can I re-protect it afterwards?
Yes, with Protect PDF, which can also set a different password and adjust printing and copying permissions.
Why does it say the password is wrong?
PDF passwords are case-sensitive. If it was copied from an email, check for a trailing space.