How to Remove a Password from a PDF for Free

Quick summary: To remove a password from a PDF you own, open it in Preview on Mac, enter the password, then go to File → Export as PDF and uncheck Encrypt. On Windows, open it in Edge or Acrobat Reader and print to Microsoft Print to PDF. On iPhone, open it, tap Print, then pinch-out the preview to create a new unprotected PDF.

A password-protected PDF is secure by design — but once you no longer need that protection, re-entering a password every time you open or share the file is a real inconvenience. If you own the document and know the password, removing it is a two-minute task on any platform. Our online PDF tool lets you read and summarize the unlocked result without any extra steps.

Important: Only remove passwords from documents you own or have explicit permission to modify. Bypassing a password on someone else’s document without authorization is illegal in most jurisdictions.

Why PDFs have passwords

PDFs can carry two different types of password protection:

Type	What it does	Common use case
Open password (user password)	Requires a password to open and view the file	Protecting sensitive documents
Permissions password (owner password)	Prevents editing, printing, or copying, but the file opens freely	Locking a form or a report

To remove either type, you need to know the password. None of the free methods below bypass unknown passwords — they require you to provide the current password first.

How to remove a password from a PDF on Mac

Method 1: Preview (fastest, no install)

1. Open the PDF in Preview — macOS will prompt you for the password.
2. Enter the password and press Return.
3. Go to File → Export as PDF.
4. In the save dialog, make sure the “Encrypt” checkbox is unchecked.
5. Click Save.

The exported file has no password. The original stays encrypted.

Method 2: Print to PDF on Mac

1. Open the encrypted PDF in Preview (enter the password when prompted).
2. Press Cmd + P to open the print dialog.
3. Click “PDF” in the bottom-left corner → “Save as PDF”.
4. Save the file.

The printed-to-PDF output is a new, unencrypted document.

How to remove a password from a PDF on Windows

Method 1: Print to PDF (built-in)

1. Open the PDF in Microsoft Edge or Adobe Acrobat Reader (enter the password when prompted).
2. Press Ctrl + P to open the print dialog.
3. Select “Microsoft Print to PDF” as the printer.
4. Click Print and save.

The output PDF has no password.

Method 2: Adobe Acrobat Reader (free tier)

The free Reader alone cannot remove passwords, but if you have access to Adobe Acrobat (Pro or Standard):

1. Open the PDF and enter the password.
2. Go to File → Properties → Security.
3. Change the Security Method to “No Security”.
4. Enter the permissions password when prompted.
5. Click OK and save.

How to remove a PDF password on iPhone

1. Open the PDF in the Files app — tap it and enter the password.
2. Tap the Share icon (box with arrow pointing up).
3. Select “Print”.
4. In the print preview, perform a pinch-out gesture on the preview thumbnail — this converts the print preview into a new PDF.
5. Tap Share on the new preview → “Save to Files” or “Save to Photos”.

The saved file is unencrypted.

How to remove a PDF password online

Several free browser-based tools handle this without sign-up. Search for “unlock PDF free” and choose any well-reviewed option:

1. Upload the encrypted PDF.
2. Enter the password when the tool asks.
3. Download the unlocked file.

Privacy note: Your file is uploaded to a remote server. Never use online tools to unlock documents that contain medical records, financial data, legal contracts, or other sensitive information.

How to remove a permissions password (editing restrictions)

A permissions password does not block opening — it blocks editing, printing, or copying. Removing it:

1. Open the PDF normally (no password required to view).
2. Use the Print to PDF method on any platform (Mac, Windows, iOS).

The re-rendered PDF has no permissions restrictions. This is because printing re-draws the page content without copying the document’s permission metadata.

Alternatively, in Adobe Acrobat Pro: File → Properties → Security → set Security Method to “No Security” → enter the permissions password → OK.

After removing the password

Once the file is unlocked, you can:

• Compress it to shrink the file size — see how to compress a PDF.
• Edit it freely — see how to edit a PDF.
• Flatten it before sharing — see how to flatten a PDF.
• Upload it to our AI PDF reader to get an instant summary or ask questions about the content.

Common questions

Can I remove a PDF password without knowing it?

No free, legal method exists to remove a password without knowing it. Any tool claiming to “crack” or “bypass” an unknown PDF password either requires paid software, days of brute-force computation, or is a scam. If you genuinely locked yourself out of your own document, contact the software vendor that created it — they may have account-based recovery.

Does removing the password damage the PDF?

No. The document content is identical — only the encryption wrapper is removed. Text, images, form fields, and signatures remain intact.

Why does my PDF still ask for a password after I removed it?

The most common cause is saving the file in place rather than using Export or Print to PDF. If you saved the original file (overwriting it) without unchecking “Encrypt” in the dialog, the password is still there. Repeat the export step and double-check the encryption checkbox.

How do I password-protect a PDF again?

See our guide on how to password-protect a PDF for step-by-step instructions on Mac, Windows, and online.