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Unlock PDF

Remove PDF password security, giving you the freedom to use your PDFs as you want.

Drop your PDF here or click to browse

PDF or image files supported

Unlock a password-protected PDF

Remove the open-password from a PDF you already have permission to open.

Unlock PDF removes the document-open password so the file opens normally in any viewer. To use it, you must supply the correct current password — we cannot break unknown passwords, and we do not offer that.

This is useful when you receive a legitimately protected PDF (a bank statement, a payslip) and want to remove the password before archiving it.

How to use it

  1. 1Upload the encrypted PDF.
  2. 2Type the current password.
  3. 3Press Unlock PDF.
  4. 4Download the unlocked copy.

Real-world use cases

  • Remove the password from a payslip you already receive every month so you can archive it plain.
  • Unlock a bank statement so a home-loan officer can open it without hassle.
  • Remove protection before merging with other PDFs.
  • Prepare an unlocked copy for OCR.

Supported formats & limits

Input: password-protected PDF + the correct password. Output: unlocked PDF.

Privacy

Your uploaded file is written to a temporary folder on our server, processed, and deleted by the operating system as soon as the request finishes — typically within seconds. Nothing is stored in our database. Traffic is encrypted over HTTPS. Your password is used only for the single decryption step and immediately discarded.

Full details in the Privacy Policy.

Frequently asked questions

Can you unlock a PDF if I don't know the password?▾

No. Attempting to crack unknown passwords is not something PDF Hub offers. If it's your own file, ask the sender to resend it without a password.

Is this legal?▾

Only for files you own or have explicit permission to unlock. Removing protection from someone else's file may violate their rights or the law where you live.

Will the unlocked PDF look different?▾

No — the visible content is unchanged. Only the password/encryption layer is removed.

What if the file has a permissions password instead?▾

Some PDFs use only a permissions password (allow/deny printing, copying). Unlock PDF removes the standard document-open password. Files with restrictive permissions can also be normalised by re-saving after unlocking.

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OCR PDF

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