Unlock a PDF (remove its password)
Tired of typing the password every time you open an invoice or payslip? Enter it once here and download a copy without protection. If the PDF opens fine but will not let you print, copy or edit, you do not need a password at all. Decryption runs in your browser — the file and the password never leave your device.
100% private: files are processed in your browser and never uploaded to any server.
How it works
- Drop the protected PDF into the box above.
- Type the password the document opens with — or leave it empty if it opens without one.
- Click “Unlock PDF” and download the unprotected copy.
Removing a password you already know
Some documents arrive permanently protected: a bank that sends every statement encrypted, a payslip that demands a password each month, a report locked by whoever created it. If you own the document and know its password, unlocking it once saves you from typing that password every single time you open it. The tool decrypts the file with the password you provide and gives you back an ordinary, unprotected copy.
This is decryption, not cracking
It is worth being clear about what this does and does not do. Unlocking uses the correct password to decrypt the file — exactly as a PDF reader does when you type it in. It cannot recover or bypass a password you do not know; AES-encrypted PDFs cannot be cracked in practice. If you have lost the password, there is no tool that can open the file for you.
A private task kept private
The documents people unlock are among the most sensitive they own — statements, payslips, legal papers. Uploading those to a server, together with their password, to remove protection would be a poor trade. Pdfect decrypts in your browser using qpdf compiled to WebAssembly, so neither the file nor the password is ever transmitted. You can even do it offline once the page has loaded.
Handle the unlocked copy with care
It is worth remembering what an unlocked copy is: the same sensitive document, now with its protection removed. That is exactly what you want for convenience, but it also means the copy is only as safe as where you keep it. Save it somewhere you control rather than a shared drive or a synced folder that others can reach, and delete it when you no longer need it. If you ever have to send the document on to someone else, consider protecting it again with a fresh password using the Protect PDF tool, so it travels encrypted rather than in the clear.
Frequently asked questions
Can this crack a PDF whose password I don’t know?
No. This tool decrypts the file using the correct password — exactly like a PDF reader does. It cannot recover or bypass an unknown password, and AES-encrypted PDFs cannot be cracked in practice.
My PDF opens without a password but won’t let me print or copy. Can I unlock it?
Yes, and without a password. Those limits are permission restrictions, not an open password: leave the password field empty and click “Unlock PDF”. The copy you download prints, copies and edits normally.
Can I unlock a digitally signed PDF?
A signed or certified PDF often shows as locked even though it has no password, and unlocking cannot change that. Use the Remove signature tool, which removes the signature together with its restrictions — and keep the signed original in case you ever need to prove it.
Is it legal to remove a PDF password?
Removing protection from documents you own or are authorized to use — your bank statements, your payslips — is normal use. Don’t remove protection from documents whose restrictions you are bound to respect.
Is the password sent anywhere?
No. Decryption happens in your browser via WebAssembly. Neither the file nor the password is transmitted — you can even use the tool offline.
It says the password is wrong, but it works in my reader.
Check keyboard layout and caps lock first. Some very old PDFs use non-standard encodings for non-ASCII passwords; if yours fails here but works elsewhere, try changing the password in your reader and unlocking with the new one.