Unlock PDF
Enter the password and get back a copy that opens freely, with printing, copying and editing all unlocked. Works both on files that demand a password to open and on ones that merely block editing.
Drop your file here
or click to browse
Only needed if the PDF asks for a password when you open it. Files that merely block printing or copying don't need anything here.
- ProcessingOn your device
- Uploaded to a serverNothing
- InternetNot needed
Don't take our word for it. Turn off your Wi‑Fi, then use this tool. It will work exactly the same, which is only possible because your file never goes anywhere.
Worth knowing
You need the password. This removes protection from documents you can already open — it does not guess, crack or bypass anything, and it never will.
Removing a password you already have
Unlocking takes a PDF you can already open and writes an unprotected copy. It is for documents you are entitled to read and are tired of retyping a password for — not for opening something you have no password to.
Why so many documents arrive locked
Banks, insurers, payroll providers and utilities increasingly send statements encrypted with a password derived from something they hold about you: a date of birth, the last digits of an account number, a postcode. It protects the file in transit, and it becomes a nuisance the moment you want to search across a year of statements or send one to an accountant.
What unlocking does to the file
- The pages are unchanged — same text, same images, same quality.
- The encryption layer is removed, so the copy opens without a prompt.
- Printing and copying restrictions go with it, since those are part of the same protection.
- The original locked file is untouched on your device.
Locked, or just restricted?
If the document opens without asking for anything but refuses to print or copy, it carries a permissions password rather than an open one. There is nothing for you to type — the restriction is a flag in the file, and removing it produces a copy that behaves normally.
The legitimacy line
Removing protection from your own bank statement is your business. Removing it from a document someone else encrypted, to bypass a restriction they chose, is not — and this tool cannot do it anyway, since it needs to read the file to rewrite it.
More on this: the full guide to removing a PDF password.
Questions people ask
Can it unlock a PDF I don't have the password for?
No, and deliberately so. Getting into a document you weren't given access to isn't something this site helps with. If you've genuinely lost your own password, there's no recovery — that's what makes the encryption worth using.
My PDF opens fine but won't let me print. Do I need a password?
No — leave the password field empty. That file carries permission flags rather than a real password, and those come off without one.
Is the unlocked copy identical?
The pages are copied across intact. The new file simply has no security handler, so nothing asks for a password and nothing is restricted.
Is it legal to remove a PDF password?
On a document you own or are authorised to access, yes — it is your file. Circumventing protection on someone else's document is a different matter and is not what this is for.
Where do I find the password my bank used?
It is normally stated in the email the statement arrived with, or in the provider's help pages. Common patterns are a date of birth as DDMMYYYY, or a postcode joined to the last four digits of an account number.
Does unlocking reduce the quality of the document?
No. Only the encryption is removed. The page content is copied across untouched.
How to use it
Privacy & security · 8 August 2026 · 3 min
How to remove a password from a PDF you own
Strip the password from a PDF you can already open, so you stop retyping it. The difference between the two kinds of PDF password, and what to do when you've lost one.
Privacy & security · 9 August 2026 · 4 min
How to password protect a PDF (and which password you need)
PDF has two different passwords and they do different jobs. One encrypts the file; the other politely asks. Here is which to use, and how to pick a password worth setting.