What is a PDF password?

A PDF can have two kinds of passwords. An open password, also called a user password, is needed to see the document at all. A permissions password, also called an owner password, lets anyone open the file but restricts things like printing, copying text or editing. Both work by encrypting the file.

Tool description

This tool removes both. Load a PDF and it tells you whether the file needs a password to open and what it restricts. If it needs a password, type it in. Then download a copy that opens without a password and has no restrictions. A PDF that only has restrictions doesn't need any password to unlock.

Features

  • Removes the open password when you know it
  • Removes printing, copying and editing restrictions without the permissions password
  • Shows what a PDF restricts before you change anything
  • Works with AES-256, AES-128 and RC4 encryption
  • Keeps the pages, text, links, form fields and document info

How it works

The PDF is decrypted and saved again without encryption, right in your browser. The file and the password are never uploaded.

Tips

  • This tool can't guess a forgotten open password. You need the password to open the file.
  • Both passwords work for a PDF that needs one to open: the open password or the permissions password.
  • A PDF encrypted with a certificate instead of a password can't be unlocked here.
  • A digital signature in the PDF is no longer valid after the password is removed, since the file changes.