Do I need the password?

Yes. This tool decrypts a file you can already open. It does not crack, guess or bypass unknown passwords.

Can you recover a lost password?

No. Without the password the document cannot be decrypted.

Is it legal to unlock a PDF?

Only remove protection from documents you own or are authorised to modify. Respect the rights of the document owner.

What about permission restrictions?

Restrictions such as no-printing are stored inside the encrypted file and are dropped when the file is rewritten without encryption.

Why do I need to unlock before converting?

Most tools cannot read an encrypted document, so unlocking first makes merging, compressing and converting possible.

Security

Unlock PDF

Enter the password for a document you are allowed to open and download a copy without encryption. This tool cannot guess or crack unknown passwords.

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your document is never uploaded.

Drop a protected PDF

.PDF · up to 50 MB per file · single file

Files are processed in your browser and never uploaded.

How to remove a password from a PDF

Remove password protection from a PDF you own, using the correct password, so you can edit or convert it.

1Upload the protected PDF.
2Enter the password that opens it.
3Remove the protection.
4Download the unlocked copy.

Why use Unlock PDF

Stop retyping the password every time you open a file you own.
Unlocked files can be merged, compressed and converted.
Decryption happens locally in your browser.
Your original protected file is left unchanged.

Privacy and how your file is handled

This tool runs in your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly. The file you choose is read locally by the page and is not uploaded to PDFSolution servers.

Read more in our security overview and privacy policy.

Unlock PDF — frequently asked questions

Do I need the password?: Yes. This tool decrypts a file you can already open. It does not crack, guess or bypass unknown passwords.
Can you recover a lost password?: No. Without the password the document cannot be decrypted.
Is it legal to unlock a PDF?: Only remove protection from documents you own or are authorised to modify. Respect the rights of the document owner.
What about permission restrictions?: Restrictions such as no-printing are stored inside the encrypted file and are dropped when the file is rewritten without encryption.
Why do I need to unlock before converting?: Most tools cannot read an encrypted document, so unlocking first makes merging, compressing and converting possible.

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