Decrypt PDF
Remove a password from a PDF you can already open: enter the current password and download an unlocked copy. Not a password cracker. No upload.
Upload PDF File
Read the full guide: How to Remove a Password from a PDF When You Know It
About This Tool
Decrypt PDF removes the encryption from a PDF when you already know its password. Add the protected file, type the password into the PDF Password field and click Decrypt PDF. You get a new copy, saved with _decrypted in its name, that opens without asking for a password.
This is not a password cracker. The tool hands the password you type to qpdf, an open-source PDF library running in your browser as WebAssembly. If it does not match, you see a message saying the password is incorrect. Nothing is guessed or bypassed, and a forgotten password cannot be recovered here, so ask whoever created the file for the password or an unprotected copy.
Because the whole encryption layer is removed, print, copy and edit restrictions go with it. The password field cannot be left empty, so a file that opens freely but blocks printing or copying belongs in Remove Restrictions instead. To keep protection but change the rules, use Change Permissions. Passwords are case-sensitive, and the eye button helps you spot a stray space pasted in from an email.
Decryption happens in your browser tab, and neither the file nor the password is uploaded. An unlocked copy can be read by anyone who gets hold of it, so keep the protected original exactly as received, store the working copy where your document procedures say it belongs, and protect it again with Encrypt PDF before it travels.
Step-by-step instructions and common mistakes: How to Remove a Password from a PDF When You Know It.
How to Use
Add the protected PDF
Drop the encrypted file on the upload area or click to browse. Its name and size appear.
Type the password
In the Enter Password panel, type the current password into PDF Password. Use the eye button to check it.
Decrypt
Click Decrypt PDF. If the password is wrong, a message tells you; close it, correct the password and try again.
Download and check
Download the copy with _decrypted in its name and open it to confirm that no password is requested.
Use Cases
Filing a supplier document
Unlock an audit response that arrived with a separate password so your document system can index and file it.
Before merging or splitting
Remove the password from your own working copy first, since many PDF operations cannot read an encrypted file.
Retiring an old password
Make an open copy of a document whose password is no longer needed, for example once a project has closed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Decrypt PDF open a file if I have lost the password?
No. It needs the current password and makes no attempt to guess or bypass it. The sender or author of the file is the only route to the password or an open copy.
My PDF opens but will not print. Is this the right tool?
No. That file has permission restrictions without an open password, and this tool will not run with an empty password field. Use Remove Restrictions on files you own or are allowed to modify.
Does it change my original file?
No. It downloads a new unlocked copy and leaves the protected file on your computer as it was.
Is the password sent anywhere?
No. It is used inside your browser tab by the qpdf engine and is not uploaded or stored.
How do I protect the file again later?
Run the unlocked copy through Encrypt PDF and set a new password before sending it on.