PDF files are great for sharing documents while maintaining formatting and layout. However, the same features that make PDFs easy to use also make them easy to lock down with passwords.
You may encounter password-protected PDFs shared by others or sent to you for review. But how do you get access if you don’t have the password?
In this guide, I’ll walk through several methods for unlocking password-protected PDF files. Whether they use simple passwords or strong AES encryption, you’ll learn professional techniques used by editors, reviewers and security researchers to bypass PDF password security and restrictions.
Follow these steps to unlock and remove passwords from PDFs
Use Adobe Acrobat Password Recovery
If you have the full Acrobat Pro software, you can use its built-in password removal tools:
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Open the locked PDF file in Acrobat Pro on Windows or Mac
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Go to Tools > Protection > Remove Security
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Click OK to remove password security
This will work on documents with just a user password, but not owner passwords. For those, keep reading!
Brute Force the Password
If you don’t have the owner password but need full edit access, use brute force tools:
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Upload the file to a password cracking site like PDFCrack.com
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Select GPU acceleration services for faster results
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Let it run through all password combinations
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Check back later to download the unlocked PDF
This uses raw computing power to guess passwords, so expect a long wait for strong passwords.
Find Password Hints in Document Properties
Many PDF creators add password hints to document properties:
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In Acrobat, go to File > Properties
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Check the Initial View and Advanced tabs for any hints
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Try variations of the hinted topic as the password
These can give clues to guessing the correct password.
Search Recent Emails for the Password
If you received the protected PDF recently via email:
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Look in your email inbox for any messages related to the document
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Check if the sender included the password in the message body or attachments
People often share or forget passwords they’ve used. Searching email history can uncover them.
Ask the Document Creator for Access
Contact the person or company who created and password-protected the PDF:
- Explain your need to access the full document
- Request they share, remove or provide the owner password
- Offer signing an NDA if it’s confidential material
Often, asking nicely for the password works better than antisocial hacking!
Use John the Ripper to Crack Encrypted PDFs
John the Ripper is an open source password cracking tool. To use it on PDFs:
- Install and run John the Ripper on a computer
- Drag your locked PDF onto the executable file
- It will scan and extract hashes from the PDF file
- John will start cracking and display results
This can break even strong 40+ character passwords with time.
Extract Text from Scanned PDFs
For scanned documents secured with a password:
- Run the file through an OCR tool like Adobe Acrobat or ABBYY FineReader
- Extract the text including any password clues
- Use that content to try guessing the password
OCR bypasses the scanning encryption by reading visible text.
Reset Forgotten Adobe Passwords
If you’ve forgotten the password to your own encrypted PDFs:
- Sign in to your Adobe account that was used to secure the files
- Go to Account Settings and reset your Adobe password
- Reset will remove PDF encryption previously set with that account
Recovering your own Adobe account credentials lets you regain access.
Remove Password Security Altogether
To completely strip PDF password protection:
- Upload the locked PDF to a site like PDFUnlock.com
- It will scan the file to confirm encryption type
- Select options to remove password security
- Download the now-unlocked document
The file will now open freely without any passwords required.
While PDF passwords provide document security, sometimes you need access without those restrictions.
Using the techniques outlined here, you can now confidently recover access to password-protected PDF files through official and unofficial means. Adobe provides official password reset options for your own documents, while community-sourced tools empower removing restrictions from files created by others.
With the power to unlock PDF protections, you can open, edit and share files freely again. No more password frustrations blocking your work and collaboration!
How To Unlock a PDF:
- Import or drag & drop your locked PDF file to our unlock tool.
- Type the password to unlock your PDF.
- Edit the PDF with our other tools if needed.
- Download or share your unlocked PDF when ready—done!
How to Remove Password from PDF File – No App (Easy)
Should you remove a password from a protected PDF file?
While it might seem suspicious, more often than not passwords need to be removed for benign purposes. The most common reason to remove a password from protected PDF files is a simple one: You no longer need a password for that information. Perhaps a document is public and its information is no longer considered sensitive or private.
How do I unlock a PDF file?
With Adobe Acrobat on your desktop, unlocking your file is as easy as removing the password. It’s easy. Quickly remove PDF password security from a PDF document you created if you no longer need the protection. Just type in the owner password, then opt to remove the PDF security. Now you have an unlocked PDF. It’s secure.
How do I remove a password from a PDF file?
You can remove the password from a PDF file if you know the password to your protected PDF. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro, open the file’s Document Properties, remove the security from the file, and save it. You can also open the PDF in any program that displays PDFs and then print it as a new PDF file to remove the password.
Do you need a PDF password remover?
After those steps, congratulations, you’ll have an unlocked PDF. Now, just be sure to save the document so others can access it as well. Avoid using PDF password remover tools, converters, or online tools you can’t trust, as they can often fail to unlock PDFs and potentially create larger security risks. Why use a PDF password remover?
