Decrypt PDF

Remove a known password

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Drop files here, or click to select

One file at a time · max 200MB · processed locally

How to use

Purpose

Remove protection from an encrypted PDF with the correct password, producing a password-free file ready for editing, merging, or conversion. This is not a password-breaker — the correct password is mandatory. Runs locally via qpdf-wasm; no upload, no watermark, free. Use it to strip self-set passwords for redistribution, or process a PDF after the sender provides the password.

Steps

Drag or pick the encrypted PDF
First use downloads the ~2MB qpdf engine
Enter the open password (the one you'd type to view the PDF)
Or enter the owner password (the permissions password)
Click "Process"
If the password is correct, a password-free PDF is generated
Download with the "-decrypted" suffix
If the password is wrong, the tool will tell you; double-check input and which password type

FAQ

Can I recover a forgotten password?: No. The tool doesn't crack passwords — you must enter the correct one. This is standard commercial-software behavior aligned with AES's security model. If you've forgotten, contact whoever set the password.
Will my file be uploaded?: No. qpdf-wasm decrypts locally; both PDF and password stay on your device. This matters especially for confidential PDFs — using an online tool shouldn't itself leak the password and contents.
Difference from Remove Password?: Decrypt requires the open password and outputs a password-free PDF. Remove Password only needs the owner password (controlling print/copy permissions) and lifts those restrictions while preserving the open password if any. Pick the one matching your need.
Will file structure change after decryption?: No. qpdf strips the encryption layer without repacking content; file size is virtually identical, and text/image layers stay intact.
Does it support AES-256 PDFs?: Yes. qpdf handles all standard PDF encryption (RC4-40/RC4-128/AES-128/AES-256) without algorithm-specific differences.

Use cases

Decrypt your self-encrypted contract before sending to the counterparty
Decrypt a customer-provided PDF (with their password) for internal analysis
Decrypt a purchased DRM ebook for offline reading (where licensed)
Decrypt a personal financial backup for downstream Excel processing
Strip encryption from an old PDF before further merge/compress operations

Tip

Before decrypting, confirm what you actually need — often the goal is to lift print/copy restrictions, not the open password. In that case, Remove Password is more precise.