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Lift printing, copying and editing restrictions.
On your device. No watermark. No sign-up.
This tool is processed locally with JavaScript inside your browser tab. The document is not uploaded, stored or seen by a server, which makes it suitable for contracts, invoices, CVs and medical or financial records.
A PDF can be locked in two different ways. An open password stops anyone from reading the file until the password is typed. Restrictions are different: the file opens freely, but the author has switched off printing, copying text or editing.
This tool is for the second kind. It works on a PDF that already opens without a password, and it removes the printing, copying and editing restrictions from it. If your PDF asks for a password when you open it, use Remove Password instead, with the password you were given.
The tool saves a new copy named after the original with -unlocked added to the name. In the copy, printing, copying and editing are no longer blocked, and the text stays selectable. Your original file is not changed.
If the PDF has no restrictions, the tool says so and does not make a copy. If the file needs a password to open, the tool says that restrictions cannot be lifted without the password and points you to Remove Password.
The tool does not guess or crack passwords. It only works with what the file already allows.
The usual cases are your own documents: a bank statement or invoice that you need to print but the sender has blocked, a report that you need to copy a few lines from, or a form that you need to edit or fill in.
A restriction is a request from the author, not a security guarantee, so it is only right to lift it on a file that you own or are allowed to change. Do not use the tool to get around protection on someone else’s work.
Many tools on this site cannot read a PDF that has restrictions, even when it opens in your browser. Merge PDF, Split PDF and Sign PDF are examples. They report that the file is not a valid PDF, or name the file and tell you to unlock it first.
Run the file through Unlock PDF once, and then use the unlocked copy in the other tool.
The tool saves the document again without its encryption. Any change to the bytes of a file means a certified digital signature will no longer validate, so keep the original if the signature matters.
The unlocked copy has no protection at all, so keep it somewhere private. You can add a password again with Encrypt PDF.
The restrictions are removed inside this browser tab. The PDF is read from your disk and never sent to a server. After your first visit the tool also works offline.
Yes. There is no account, no daily limit and no watermark on the unlocked file.
No. The restrictions are removed inside your browser and the file never leaves your device.
Run it through Unlock PDF, then open the unlocked copy and print it. The restriction is removed from the copy.
Unlock the file first, then select and copy the text from the unlocked copy. If the PDF is a scan, there is no text to copy, so run OCR PDF first.
Unlock PDF is for a file that opens freely but blocks printing, copying or editing. Remove Password is for a file that asks for a password when you open it, and it needs that password.
No. A file that needs a password to open cannot be unlocked without it. If you have the password, use Remove Password.
The PDF has no restrictions. If a tool still refuses the file, it may be damaged. Repair PDF can often rebuild it.
No. You get a new file with -unlocked added to the name, and the original is not changed.
It is fine for a document that you own or are allowed to change. Do not use it to bypass protection on someone else’s work. Rules differ from country to country, so check yours.
Yes, in Chrome, Safari and other mobile browsers. Large PDFs are easier on a desktop.
Last updated 12 November 2026
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