Unlock PDF

Remove a password you know.

On a secure server

Password removalChecking…

Unlock PDF runs on our secure server

Add a locked PDF, or browsePDF

Current password

Enter the password that opens this PDF — or, if it opens without one, its owner (permissions) password.

Checking our secure server…

About this tool

Remove a password you know: the one that opens the PDF, or the owner (permissions) password of a file that only locks editing. It never bypasses a password.

Files are processed on a secure server, which deletes the upload when the job ends and serves the result for a limited time.

More details

Unlock PDF takes an encrypted PDF plus the password that opens it and gives you back the same document with the encryption removed, so it opens without a prompt and other tools can work on it. It is for files you are entitled to open and whose password is known to you, such as a statement or a contract a colleague locked before emailing it. It is not a password cracker: if the password you type does not open the file, the job stops and says so.

The decryption is done by qpdf, which rewrites the file without its security settings rather than printing the pages to images, so any text the original had stays selectable and searchable. Before anything is delivered our server checks the result again, and a copy that still reports encryption counts as a failure, not a download.

This tool runs on a server: your PDF, up to 100 MB, is uploaded over TLS to pdf.xyz's secure server, and the password rides along in the job request, where it waits in the job queue until the job finishes. The input is deleted when the job finishes, the download link stops working after 60 minutes, and the stored copy is erased by a daily storage rule after that.

When to use it

Statements and payslips that ask for a password every time
Banks and payroll systems often lock each PDF with a date of birth or account digits. Unlock it once and the copy you keep opens without the code.
Changing or replacing a password
Protect PDF will not re-encrypt a file that is already locked; it asks you to unlock it first. Remove the old password here, then protect the unlocked copy with a new password and your choice of AES-256 or AES-128.
Getting a locked file into the other pdf.xyz tools
The in-browser editors, such as Add Page Numbers, Crop PDF and Flatten PDF, stop on an encrypted file with a request to unlock it first. Download the unlocked copy here, then add that file to the editor you wanted.
A file that opens but will not let you print or edit
Some PDFs need no password to view yet still block printing or copying, because an owner password sets those permissions. qpdf, the engine behind this tool, accepts the owner password for decryption, so typing it here drops the restrictions along with the encryption.

How it works

1Add the locked PDF
Drop one PDF onto the area that reads "Add a locked PDF, or browse"; clicking that area opens a file picker instead. It holds a single file of up to 100 MB, and the Remove button next to the file name clears it so you can pick another. Nothing is sent until you press Unlock PDF, which works once the badge reads Secure server; if no server is available, the panel explains why under that button.
2Type the current password
Put the password that opens the file into the Current password field; for a file that views without a prompt but is restricted, use its owner password. Dots hide what you type until you press the Show password eye icon at the end of the field. The limit is 127 bytes, not characters, so accented or non-Latin letters use it up faster; past it, the hint reads "Too long: n/127 bytes."
3Select Unlock PDF
Nothing happens when you press it without a file, without a password, or with a password over the limit. Otherwise it shows a spinner for the whole run, and its label follows the job: Uploading your file…, Waiting for our server…, Unlocking on our secure server… while qpdf decrypts, then Downloading the result… as the unlocked copy comes back to your browser.
4Download the unlocked copy
When "Your PDF is unlocked and ready." appears, the file has already been fetched to your browser, and the button beneath it, labelled Download statement-unlocked.pdf for a file called statement.pdf, saves it. Our server's own link to that output expires after 60 minutes.

Common questions

Can Unlock PDF remove a password I have forgotten?

No. The tool only decrypts a file with a password that the file itself accepts. It does not guess, test lists of passwords or bypass encryption, so a lost password cannot be recovered here. Ask whoever sent the file for the password or an unlocked copy.

Which password do I need to enter?

The decryption is done by qpdf, which accepts either of a PDF's two passwords: the user password asked for when the file is opened, or the owner password that governs printing and editing. Because Unlock PDF stays inactive while Current password is blank, a PDF with no open password but locked-down permissions can only be unlocked here with its owner password.

Why did I get 'The password is incorrect, or this PDF cannot be unlocked with it'?

qpdf could not decrypt the file with that password, and a second check with the same password confirmed the file needs a different one. Usually that is a typo, so reveal the field and check capitals, spaces and keyboard layout. Other problems get their own messages: a damaged file, or encryption qpdf cannot open, is reported as such; a PDF that opens without a password but locks printing or editing says it needs its owner password; one with no encryption says there is nothing to unlock; input that is not a PDF could not be read as one; and any other engine failure says the file could not be processed and that no output was produced.

Is my file and password uploaded?

Yes. Decryption needs the native qpdf engine, so the PDF is uploaded over TLS to pdf.xyz's secure server and the password is sent in the job request. The password is kept in the queue's record of the job while it waits and runs, including any automatic retry; that record is deleted when the job finishes, and one for a job that never finishes expires on the queue's own timer. qpdf receives it from a one-line-per-argument file in a scratch folder rather than on the process command line, and the folder is deleted when that qpdf call returns. The input PDF is deleted when the job finishes, the download link expires after 60 minutes, and the stored copy is erased by a daily storage rule after that.

Does unlocking change anything else in the document?

The only intended change is the missing encryption; nothing is re-rendered, so no page is flattened into a picture. Two visible differences remain: the saved copy is renamed from the original (statement.pdf comes back as statement-unlocked.pdf), and because qpdf writes the file out afresh, its byte size will not necessarily match the original.

How large a PDF can I unlock?

Up to 100 MB, one file per job.

How large can my file be?

Up to 100 MB per file.

Can Unlock PDF remove a password I don't know?

No. You type the password that opens the PDF — or, if it opens without one, its owner (permissions) password; an empty one is refused — and our server uses it to decrypt the file. It does not guess or crack passwords, and nothing is recovered or bypassed. With a wrong password the job fails and no file is produced.

What if my PDF has no password?

Then there is nothing to unlock: the job stops and says so, and no file is produced. A PDF that opens freely but locks printing, copying or editing does have one — an owner (permissions) password — and Unlock removes those restrictions only with it.