PDF Restriction Remover
LocalRemove printing, copying and editing restrictions from a PDF
Drag & drop files here or click to browse
PDF • Max 100 MB
Files are processed in your browser and never uploaded
Processing limits
- Rendered PDFs: up to 500 pages, 8,192 px per side, 32 MP per page, 100 MP in total, and 250 MiB of output.
- These are memory budgets, not upload limits — a large file is only ever read by your own browser.
500 pages · 8,192 px/side · 32 MP/page · 100 MP total · 250 MiB output
Privacy First
Your files are processed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to any server.
How do I remove a password from a PDF?
Add the protected PDF, enter the password you already have, then unlock and download a copy with no password and no usage restrictions. The tool first removes encryption without re-rendering so text, links and other document objects stay intact. If a PDF cannot be re-serialised safely, it falls back to a local page render and says so in the result. The document and the password are handled entirely inside this browser tab.
About the PDF Restriction Remover
Remove the permission restrictions that stop a PDF being printed, copied from or edited, and remove a known open password. The document is decrypted in place rather than re-photographed, so selectable text, links, form fields, bookmarks and page dimensions all survive — which is what makes the result usable rather than merely unlocked. A file that opens without prompting carries only an owner password, so no password is needed to lift its restrictions. The PDF and any password you type never leave your device.
- Lift the printing or copying restrictions on a document you own so it can be printed, quoted, filed or merged normally — no password required when the file already opens.
- Copy text out of a secured PDF: the text layer is preserved, so selection and search still work in the result.
- Open a password-protected statement from a bank, payroll provider or utility whose password you know but whose viewer keeps demanding it.
- Handle a confidential document without ever sending it, or its password, to a remote unlocking service.
How to use the Unlock PDF tool
- 1
Upload PDF file
Select PDF file from your device or drag file into the upload area.
- 2
Choose settings
Choose settings such as PDF password (leave blank if the file opens without one) before processing.
- 3
Remove Restrictions
Run the Unlock PDF tool to create the PDF output.
- 4
Download the result
Download the finished file. The original file stays on your device and is not uploaded.
Do you need to know the password?
Yes. This tool decrypts a document using a password you supply — it does not crack, guess, or bypass encryption, and it cannot open a file you do not have the key to. Its purpose is convenience: removing a password you already know from a file you are entitled to, such as a bank statement that arrives encrypted with your date of birth every month and needs opening repeatedly.
How does the unlocked copy differ from the original?
For supported PDFs, only the security handler is removed: pages, selectable text, links, form fields, bookmarks and dimensions are preserved. If the document cannot be re-serialised safely, the tool falls back to rebuilding its pages from local renders. That fallback keeps the visible appearance but loses searchable text and other interactive structure, and the completed result explicitly identifies which path was used.
When is removing a PDF password appropriate?
When the document is yours or you have been given the password and the restriction has outlived its purpose — statements you archive, reports you were sent for internal use, forms you need to annotate. Removing protection from a document you are not authorised to access is another matter, and no local tool changes that; the technical ability to run the operation is not permission to run it.
Are my files uploaded when unlocking a password-protected PDF?
No. Decryption happens in this tab, so the password and the confidential document it protects both stay on your machine. Files that arrive password-protected are protected for a reason — they are statements, payslips, medical results, legal correspondence — which makes uploading them to a free unlocking site one of the least advisable things you can do with them.
How to do this offline, on the command line
qpdf is a dependable offline equivalent that removes encryption without re-rendering, preserving the text layer, links and form fields. It needs the password.
qpdf
macOS: brew install qpdf · Debian/Ubuntu: apt install qpdf
qpdf --password=SECRET --decrypt statement.pdf unlocked.pdfUseful for automation or for a document the browser cannot re-serialise. PDFBase also preserves document structure on its primary path and reports when it must use the conditional raster fallback.
Frequently Asked Questions
Need More Tools?
Explore our collection of 58 free PDF tools, all with privacy-first processing.
Browse All Tools