How to remove a password from a PDF

Why you'd want to

Bank statements, payslips, tax notices and insurance documents often arrive locked, usually with something like your date of birth or the last digits of an account number. That's sensible in transit, but tiresome once the file is safely on your own computer. Every time you open it, search it or attach it to something, you type the password again. Some tools refuse locked files outright, and most merging, compressing and splitting tools, ours included, need an unlocked copy first.

The steps

1. Open Unlock PDF and add your PDF.
2. Type the password. Passwords are case-sensitive, so check Caps Lock if it's refused.
3. Download the unlocked copy. Your original stays untouched.

The two kinds of PDF password

A PDF can carry two different passwords, and it helps to know which one you're dealing with.

The open password is the one most people mean. You can't see the document at all without it.

The permissions password is less obvious. The file opens normally, but your PDF reader won't let you print, copy text or edit. Adobe Acrobat shows "(SECURED)" in the title bar when this is set.

Unlock PDF takes either one. If your file opens freely but won't print, you need the permissions password, which is usually held by whoever made the document, not the one you were sent.

Other free ways to do it

Google Chrome: open the PDF in Chrome, enter the password, then choose Print and set the destination to "Save as PDF". The saved copy has no password. The catch is that this prints the document into a new PDF. Clickable links, bookmarks and form fields don't survive, and it won't work at all if the file blocks printing.

Adobe Acrobat Pro: open the file, then choose File, Properties, Security and set Security Method to "No Security". This keeps everything intact, but Acrobat Pro is a paid subscription. The free Acrobat Reader can't do it.

Unlock PDF keeps the document as it was, links and bookmarks included, without printing it or paying for anything.

What if you've forgotten the password?

We can't help with that, and you should be wary of any site that says it can. Modern PDFs are encrypted with AES, and the only way into a file without its password is to guess it, which takes anything from minutes to centuries depending on the password. Before trying anything else:

• Check the email or letter the document came with. Banks and government agencies usually explain their password format there.
• Ask the sender for an unlocked copy or a reminder.
• Look for an earlier version you saved before it was locked.

Only unlock what's yours to unlock

Remove protection only from files you're entitled to open. Unlocking your own payslip is fine. Getting around someone else's restriction on a document they control isn't.

Is it safe to unlock a PDF online?

It depends on the site. Most online PDF tools upload your file to their servers, and with a locked file you also hand over the password. ConvertFile's Unlock PDF runs inside your browser tab: the file is read, decrypted and saved on your own device. You can check this yourself. Open your browser's developer tools (press F12), go to the Network tab and run the tool. You won't see your PDF being sent anywhere.

Locking it again later

If you need to send the document on, Protect PDF adds a new password of your choice with AES-256 encryption. Our guide to password-protecting a PDF covers how to pick one that's hard to guess.

Common questions

Is Unlock PDF free? Yes, for files up to 25 MB and 150 pages without an account. A free account raises that to 50 MB and 400 pages.

Does unlocking change the document? The pages, text, links and bookmarks stay the same. Only the encryption is removed.

Can it unlock several files at once? One at a time, because each file needs its own password.