Unlock PDF
Remove the password and restrictions from a PDF you own.
How to use the Unlock PDF
- Select the locked PDF.
- If it needs a password to open, type it in.
- Click Unlock PDF and download the freed file.
About the Unlock PDF
Unlock PDF passes your file through Ghostscript and writes out a fresh, unencrypted copy. If the PDF needs a password just to open, type it in and it is handed to the engine for decryption. If the PDF opens fine but blocks copying, printing or editing, leave the password box blank — those permission flags are simply not carried into the new file.
The result is a normal PDF you can print, copy from and feed to other tools. That last part matters: the tools here cannot read encrypted PDFs at all, so if merge PDF or compress PDF rejected your file, unlocking it first is usually the fix.
The honest limitation, and the important one: this cannot break a password you do not know. There is no cracking, no brute force and no recovery — a file that demands a password to open, with none supplied, simply fails with an error. Only unlock documents you own or have permission to modify; stripping protection from someone else’s document may breach their terms or the law where you are. Your PDF and any password you type are uploaded to our server, used for that single request, and deleted when it ends. Neither is stored or logged. One file, 20 MB maximum.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know the password?
To remove an open password, yes — you must type it in. Restrictions on printing or copying can be removed without any password, since the file already opens normally.
Can it recover a password I have forgotten?
No. There is no cracking or brute-forcing here. Without the password, an encrypted file cannot be opened at all.
Is this legal?
Only for documents you own or are authorised to modify. Removing protection from someone else’s file can breach copyright or contract terms — check before you do it.
Why unlock a file that already opens?
Because permission flags block copying and printing, and because every other PDF tool on this site refuses encrypted files. Unlocking makes the document usable again.
Is my password stored?
No. It is used once by the PDF engine and discarded with the temporary files at the end of the request. It is never logged.