Remove PDF Password
Enter a PDF's current password to decrypt it, producing a copy that opens without one. Runs fully in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Drop a password-protected PDF here
How removing a PDF password works
Removing a PDF password means decrypting a file that currently requires a password to open, using that same password, so the result opens normally in any PDF reader with no prompt at all. It's a one-way operation in this direction — you supply the correct password once, and the encryption is stripped out of the file permanently.
This tool uses QPDF, the same open-source engine that powers password handling in a lot of professional PDF software, compiled to WebAssembly so it runs directly inside your browser tab. When you upload a file, it's checked immediately to confirm it actually needs a password to open — if it doesn't, you can skip straight to downloading it instead of typing a password that wouldn't do anything. If it does, entering the correct password decrypts the file locally and hands you back a new, unprotected copy; your file and password are never transmitted anywhere, which is also why this works offline once the page has loaded. It's the same QPDF-based engine used by the Password Protect PDF tool on this site, just running in reverse.
Common use cases
- Removing a password from your own document once it no longer needs to be restricted
- Unlocking a PDF a colleague or client sent you, along with its password, so it's easier to search, copy from, or archive
- Simplifying a file before merging it with other unprotected PDFs, since merge tools generally can't read encrypted input
- Preparing a scanned or signed contract for long-term storage without a password prompt getting in the way each time it's opened
- Removing an outdated password from an internal document before replacing it with a new one via Password Protect PDF
Once unlocked, the PDF is no longer protected — anyone with the file can open it without a password, so only unlock a copy you're comfortable sharing that way. If you need the password removed but still want to restrict printing or copying, protect the unlocked result again afterward with different permissions rather than skipping this step.
Related tools
Remove PDF Password — frequently asked questions
Yes. This tool decrypts a PDF using the password it already requires to open — it doesn't crack, guess, brute-force, or bypass a password you don't know. If you've genuinely forgotten it, there's no recovery option here or elsewhere, since that's how real PDF encryption is designed to work.
A PDF can have two separate passwords: a user (open) password, which this tool removes, and an owner password, which only restricts actions like printing or copying without blocking opening the file. If your PDF opens fine but blocks printing or copying, it's using an owner password with no open password — this tool will report it as not password-protected, since technically it isn't.
The tool checks this automatically as soon as you upload the file. If no password is required to open it, you'll see that immediately and can download the file as-is, skipping the password step entirely instead of being asked for a password you don't need.
It works on standard PDF encryption — the AES-128 and AES-256 encryption used by essentially all password-protected PDFs, including ones created by Adobe Acrobat and this site's own Password Protect PDF tool. Enter the correct password and it unlocks; there's no format it silently fails on.
No. Decryption runs entirely in your browser through a WebAssembly build of QPDF, the same open-source engine professional PDF tools rely on. Your file and password stay on your device the whole time — nothing is sent to a server.
You'll get a clear message right below the password field, and you can correct it and try again immediately — there's no attempt limit and no lockout after repeated tries.
No. Only the encryption is removed — every page, image, font, and piece of text stays exactly as it was. The output is a normal, unencrypted PDF that opens in any reader without a prompt.
Yes. The upload, password entry, and download all work the same way on a phone or tablet browser as on desktop — there's nothing to install either way.