How to Remove the Password from a PDF

Bank statements, credit card bills, salary slips and e-Aadhaar PDFs usually arrive locked with a password. If the document is yours and you know the password, you can save a copy that opens without it – handy for printing, merging or uploading. This guide shows how, where to find the password, and how to keep the unlocked copy safe.

Two kinds of PDF password

A PDF can carry two different passwords, and it helps to know which one you are dealing with.

• An open password (also called a user password) stops anyone opening the file without it. Bank statements and e-Aadhaar use this kind. To remove it you must know it – nobody can “unlock” such a file without the password, and tools that claim to crack it are guessing.
• A permissions password (owner password) lets the file open but blocks printing, copying or editing. If your PDF opens normally but the Print button is greyed out, this is the kind you have, and the restrictions can be removed without typing anything.

Step by step: remove the password

1. Open Unlock PDF (for e-Aadhaar, Unlock Aadhaar PDF explains its password on the page).
2. Add the locked PDF.
3. Type the password you normally use to open it, and tick the box confirming the file is yours or you have permission.
4. Press the button and download the unlocked copy. Your original file is not changed.
5. Open the new copy once to check it opens without asking for anything.

The password and the file stay in your browser on your own device; neither is sent to our server.

Finding the password

The email or SMS that came with the document normally explains the format. Banks, card issuers and employers each choose their own, and they change them from time to time, so always check that message first. Common ingredients are:

• the first letters of your name, in capitals or small letters;
• your date of birth, often as DDMM or DDMMYYYY;
• part of your customer ID, account, card or PAN number.

For e-Aadhaar downloaded from UIDAI, the password is the first four letters of your name as printed on the Aadhaar, in capital letters, followed by your year of birth – for example SURE1990 for a Suresh born in 1990. If your name has fewer than four letters, the whole name is used – RIA1990 for Ria born in 1990. Unlock Aadhaar PDF explains what to check when it is not accepted.

One thing to know about e-Aadhaar: UIDAI signs the original file digitally, and removing the password rewrites the file, so that signature can only be checked in the original download. Keep the original, and share the original when an organisation needs to verify it.

Passwords are case-sensitive: SURE1990 and sure1990 are different. If the tool says the password is wrong, check capital letters first.

What you can do with the unlocked copy

• Merge six monthly statements into one file for a loan application with Merge PDF – locked files cannot be merged.
• Convert a statement to a spreadsheet with the Bank Statement Converter (it also accepts the locked file and asks for the password).
• Compress it for an upload limit with Compress PDF.
• Print an e-Aadhaar card front and back on one page with ID Card Print.

Keep the unlocked copy safe

Anyone who gets an unlocked statement or Aadhaar can read everything in it. A few habits keep you safe:

• Delete the unlocked copy once you have used it, or keep it in a folder only you can open.
• Before sending a document to someone who does not need every detail, black out what they do not need with Redact PDF.
• If you have to email it, lock it again with your own password using Protect PDF and send the password separately, by SMS or a call.
• For identity checks, UIDAI also lets you download a masked Aadhaar that shows only the last four digits of the number.

Only for your own documents

Remove passwords only from documents that belong to you or that you have permission to open. The tool needs the correct password and does not try to guess or break it.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• How to Merge PDF Files Online for Free (No Upload)
• How to Redact a PDF: Black Out Sensitive Information
• Are Online PDF Tools Safe? What to Check Before You Upload

Written by the iLoveDocuments team and checked against how the tools behave today. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it. See our editorial standards.