Can this crack a PDF whose password I do not know?

No. It decrypts the file with the password you provide. Without the correct password the content is unreadable — that is the point of encryption.

Does the unlocked copy keep everything?

Yes. Pages, text, images, forms and bookmarks are identical; only the encryption dictionary is removed.

My PDF has no open password but I cannot print — will this help?

Yes. Leave the password empty; permission-only restrictions are removed when the file can already be opened.

PDF Tools

Unlock PDF

Tired of typing the password for a statement every month? Enter it once here and save an unprotected copy.

Runs in your browser — files never leave your device.

Drop PDF file here

or click to browse · paste from clipboard · up to 100 MB

Select file

Options

Current password

About Unlock PDF

Banks, payroll systems and universities send protected PDFs by default. If you archive them in an already-secured folder, the extra password only gets in the way of search and previews.

This tool also removes owner restrictions (no printing, no copying) from files whose open password you know, which is legitimate for documents you own.

How it works

Drop PDF file onto the box above, click it to browse, or paste from the clipboard.
Adjust the options if you need to — the defaults suit most cases.
Press Convert. The work happens on your device, so speed depends on your computer or phone.
Download the result.

About the format

PDF · Portable Document Format · .pdf

The fixed-layout document standard: looks the same on every device and printer, which is why forms, invoices, contracts and reports are shared as PDF.

A PDF can contain vector text, embedded fonts, images, form fields, annotations and digital signatures.
Scanned PDFs are just pictures of pages; they need OCR before the text can be searched or copied.
PDF is an open ISO standard (ISO 32000) since 2008.

Related conversions

Protect PDFOn-deviceEncrypt a PDF with a password (AES-256).Flatten PDFOn-deviceLock filled forms and annotations into the page.Merge PDFPopularOn-deviceCombine several PDFs into one, in the order you choose.Split PDFPopularOn-deviceCut a PDF into separate pages or page ranges.Rotate PDFOn-deviceTurn pages the right way up and save the PDF.Delete PDF PagesOn-deviceRemove unwanted pages from a PDF.