Unlock PDF

Remove the password from a protected PDF, given the correct password.

Free — sign in to use it. Your file is handled securely at every step — it is decrypted and never stored or seen.

Select a PDF to unlock

or drop it here.

How to remove a password from a PDF

  1. Sign in to your free Quikbench account.
  2. Choose the protected PDF and enter its password.
  3. Click Unlock PDF.
  4. Download the unlocked copy, which opens without asking for a password.

When this is useful

  • You own the document and are tired of typing the password every time you open it.
  • You need to merge, split or rearrange a PDF — those tools can't read pages they aren't allowed to open.
  • An employer, bank or university sent you a protected file and you'd like a copy for your own records.

What it won't do

Unlock PDF removes a password that you already know. It does not guess, crack or bypass passwords, and it can't open a file whose password you don't have. Please only unlock documents you are entitled to open.

Two kinds of PDF password

A PDF can be protected in two different ways. An open password stops anyone opening the file at all. A permissions password lets people open it but restricts things like printing, copying text or editing. They are set separately, and which one your file uses decides what you're able to do. This tool is for removing a password you already know, so that you get an unprotected copy.

Using it responsibly

  • Only unlock files you're entitled to open, such as your own documents or ones whose owner has given you the password.
  • Keep the original. The unlocked copy has no protection, so store it somewhere safe, and delete it when you've finished if it contains anything sensitive.
  • Add a password again afterwards with Protect PDF if you'll be sharing the file.

How your file is handled

This tool runs on our server (using qpdf, a widely used open-source PDF tool), because decrypting a PDF is something browsers can't do reliably on their own. Your file is sent over an encrypted connection, processed, returned to you and not stored. A free account is required.

Frequently asked questions

The password I typed isn't accepted.

Check capital letters, spaces and look-alike characters (the letter O and the number 0). PDF passwords are case-sensitive. If the password is genuinely lost, it can't be recovered.

Will unlocking change my document?

No. Only the password protection is removed; the pages, text and images stay the same.

Can I protect the file again afterwards?

Yes — use Protect PDF to add a new password.

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