How to Remove a Password From a PDF

Password-protected PDFs are great for sending sensitive files, but a hassle when you have to type a password every single time you open a document you already own. If you know the password, you can remove it permanently and keep a clean, open copy.

When it's appropriate to unlock a PDF

Removing a password is for documents you have a right to access — files you created, statements addressed to you, or forms a colleague shared along with the password. It is not a way around protection on documents that aren't yours. A legitimate unlock tool requires the correct password to do its work, exactly as it should.

How to remove the password

• Open an unlock tool and add the protected PDF.
• Enter the password the file is protected with.
• Download the unlocked copy, which now opens without prompting.

Owner passwords vs. open passwords

Some PDFs aren't password-protected to open, but are restricted from printing, copying, or editing by an owner password. Unlocking removes those restrictions too, so you can print or copy text from a document you're allowed to use. Either way, the process is lossless — the document's pages, text, and images come through unchanged.

For privacy, choose a tool that decrypts in your browser so the file and its password never get uploaded to a server.