Remove Restrictions
Remove print, copy and edit restrictions from a PDF you have the right to change, with qpdf in your browser. A file with an open password needs it.
Upload PDF File
About This Tool
Remove Restrictions takes off the permission settings that stop a PDF being printed, copied or edited, and saves the file without encryption. It runs qpdf, an open-source PDF tool, in your browser. Use it only on documents you have the right to change, such as your own files or ones whose owner has agreed.
A PDF can have two passwords. The owner, or permissions, password sets what a reader should allow; many restricted files open without any password at all, and those can be unlocked without one. The open, or user, password is needed just to view the file. If your file asks for a password when you open it, type that password in the Owner Password (optional) box. The tool cannot remove a password you do not know.
Behind the button, qpdf runs with its decrypt and remove-restrictions options. The pages are kept; the file is rewritten without its security settings and named with _unrestricted. If the PDF was digitally signed, the signatures stop verifying, although their visible appearance stays. A wrong or missing password produces an incorrect-password message.
For a file whose open password you know, Decrypt PDF is the direct route, and how to remove a password from a PDF explains both cases. To set new restrictions instead, use Change Permissions. Nothing is uploaded: qpdf runs on your device.
How to Use
Add the restricted PDF
Drop one PDF on the upload area or click to browse.
Enter a password if needed
Leave the Owner Password box empty for a file that opens without a password. If the file asks for a password when opened, type it there.
Remove the restrictions
Read the notice about your rights to the document, then click Remove Restrictions.
Download and test
Save the _unrestricted.pdf file and check that it now prints, copies or edits as you need.
Use Cases
Print your own locked handout
Print a document your organisation produced when its export set a print restriction and the source file is not to hand.
Quote from a permitted document
Copy wording you are allowed to reuse when copying was switched off in the file.
Prepare your file for other tools
Unlock a document you own so tools that respect permissions, such as page editors, can work on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to remove PDF restrictions?
It depends on your rights to the document. Removing restrictions from your own files, or with the owner's agreement, is the intended use. Doing it to get round a licence or copyright control may breach the law or a contract, so check first if you are unsure.
Can it open a PDF whose password I do not know?
No. If the file needs a password to open, you have to type it. The tool removes permission settings; it does not guess or crack passwords.
Will the content change?
The pages, text and images are kept. The file is rewritten without encryption, so its size can change, and any digital signature in it stops verifying.
How is this different from Decrypt PDF?
Decrypt PDF is meant for removing a password you know. Remove Restrictions is aimed at permission settings, works on restricted files that open without a password, and also clears restrictions tied to digital signatures.
Is the file uploaded?
No. qpdf runs inside your browser tab, so the document and any password you type stay on your device.