How to Remove Password from PDF (When You Have the Password)

You downloaded a PDF from work, tried to edit it, and got hit with a permission error. Someone set a password on it, and now you can't make changes. Annoying.

Here's the thing: if you know the password, removing it is pretty straightforward. The password is there to prevent unauthorized access, not to make life difficult for legitimate users.

Two Types of PDF Passwords

Before we dive in, let's clear up something important. PDFs can have two different types of password protection:

User Password (Open Password)

This is the password you need to enter just to open the file. Without it, you can't even view the contents. This is serious protection — the file is encrypted and unreadable without the correct password.

Owner Password (Permissions Password)

This one's trickier. You can open and view the PDF, but you can't edit, copy, or print it. The PDF itself isn't encrypted, but certain actions are restricted. This is what most people mean when they say "password-protected PDF" in a work context.

This guide covers removing both types — but only when you know the password. If you don't have the password, that's a different situation.

Why Remove a PDF Password?

Legitimate reasons to remove password protection include:

• You created the PDF and forgot to remove the password before sharing
• A colleague locked a document unnecessarily before handing it off
• You're working with your own files and want to streamline your workflow
• The password is making collaboration difficult in your team

What you shouldn't do: remove passwords from documents that aren't yours. That's bypassing security for a reason.

Method 1: Using Adobe Acrobat (Paid, Most Reliable)

If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro, this is the easiest way. Adobe built the PDF format, so their tools handle password removal cleanly.

Removing a User Password

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro
2. File → Open and select your PDF
3. Enter the password when prompted
4. File → Properties
5. Click the "Security" tab
6. Change "Security Method" to "No Security"
7. Confirm the password again when asked
8. File → Save

Done. Your PDF is now unprotected and can be opened by anyone.

Removing an Owner Password

1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat (you might not need a password for this)
2. If prompted for permissions, enter the owner password
3. File → Properties → Security tab
4. Change "Security Method" to "No Security"
5. Enter the password to confirm
6. Save the file

Method 2: Google Chrome (Free, Works for Owner Passwords Only)

Here's a trick a lot of people don't know: Chrome can remove owner passwords for free.

1. Right-click your PDF in Windows Explorer or Finder
2. Choose "Open with" → "Google Chrome"
3. Chrome will open the PDF in its built-in viewer
4. Click the printer icon (or press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P)
5. Change the printer destination to "Save as PDF"
6. Click "Save" and choose a location

Chrome essentially reprints the PDF as a new file, and in the process, the permission password is stripped out. The content remains the same, but without the restrictions.

Limitations: This doesn't work for user passwords (encrypted PDFs). Chrome needs to open the file first, so it can't bypass the encryption. But for permission passwords, it's a quick free solution.

Method 3: Online Tools (Free-ish, Privacy Trade-off)

There are dozens of websites that promise to remove PDF passwords. Some work, some are sketchy, almost all will ask you to upload your file.

Popular options include iLovePDF, Smallpdf, and PDF2Go. The process is usually:

1. Go to their "unlock PDF" or "remove password" page
2. Upload your file
3. Enter the password if it's a user password
4. Wait for processing
5. Download the unlocked PDF

These services are convenient, but remember — you're uploading your file to someone else's server. If the PDF contains sensitive information, consider whether that's a risk you want to take.

Method 4: Command Line Tools (Free, Tech-Savvy)

If you're comfortable with the command line, there are free tools that can handle password removal without uploading anything.

Using qpdf (Mac/Linux)

QPDF is a command-line tool that can manipulate PDFs, including removing security. Install it via Homebrew on Mac:

brew install qpdf

Then run:

qpdf --decrypt --password=yourpassword input.pdf output.pdf

This removes all password protection and saves the result to output.pdf. The original file remains unchanged.

Using pdftk (Windows/Linux/Mac)

PDFtk is another powerful PDF manipulation tool. To remove a password:

pdftk input.pdf input_pw yourpassword output output.pdf

This decrypts the PDF using the provided password and creates an unprotected copy.

What If You Don't Know the Password?

This is the million-dollar question. Can you remove a PDF password without knowing it?

The short answer: sometimes, but it's not easy and often not legal.

Brute Force Attacks

Password recovery tools exist that try every possible password combination. This is called brute-forcing. Tools like John the Ripper, Hashcat, and specialized PDF crackers can attempt this.

The problem? PDF passwords can be very strong. A 12-character password with mixed case, numbers, and symbols could take years to crack. Even weak passwords can take weeks or months.

And here's the bigger issue: bypassing someone else's password without permission is probably illegal in your jurisdiction. Even if you "just forgot" the password, circumventing encryption you don't have authorization for can run afoul of computer misuse laws.

Dictionary Attacks

A faster approach than brute force is trying common passwords — "password123", "qwerty", your company name, the year, etc. This is a dictionary attack.

Some password recovery tools use massive wordlists. If the original password was weak and common, this might work relatively quickly. But modern password requirements (special characters, minimum length, etc.) make dictionary attacks less effective.

The Legal Question

I'm not a lawyer, so I'll keep this general: decrypting a file you don't have authorization to access can be illegal under laws like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (US) or the Computer Misuse Act (UK). Even if the PDF belongs to your company, if someone else set the password and you don't have permission to access it, you could be on shaky legal ground.

The ethical approach is to ask the person who set the password. If that person is no longer available, contact your IT department or document owner. There's usually a legitimate way to get access without hacking.

A Note on PDF Password Strength

If you're setting passwords on PDFs yourself, here's what to know:

• User passwords: These encrypt the entire file. A strong user password makes the file unreadable without it. Use long, random passwords for sensitive documents.
• Owner passwords: These don't encrypt the content, only restrict actions. They can be bypassed more easily (Chrome's print trick, for example). Don't rely on owner passwords for sensitive information — use a user password instead.

Many people set owner passwords thinking they're securing the content. They're not. The content is still accessible, just harder to edit. If you need actual security, use a user password.

Best Practices for Sharing PDFs

If you're the one setting passwords, here's how to avoid the "I need to edit this but it's locked" problem:

• Keep a secure record of passwords you set. A password manager is perfect for this.
• Share the password with recipients if they need to edit the file. Don't assume they'll ask you.
• Consider whether you really need password protection. Not every document needs it.
• If you only need to restrict editing temporarily, remove the password once the restriction period is over.
• For collaborative work, consider using a shared workspace instead of emailing password-protected PDFs back and forth.

Quick Reference Summary

For owner passwords (permissions):

• Quickest: Open in Chrome, print to PDF
• Most features: Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Command line: qpdf or pdftk

For user passwords (encryption):

• Adobe Acrobat: Most reliable option
• Command line: qpdf --decrypt
• Online tools: Convenient but upload your files

If you don't know the password:

• Contact the person who set it
• Check if there's a record of the password
• Ask your IT department or document owner
• Avoid attempting to crack it — legal and ethical issues

The Bottom Line

Removing a PDF password when you know it is easy. Removing one when you don't is hard and potentially problematic.

Use the Chrome trick for owner passwords (it's free and works instantly). Use Adobe Acrobat or command-line tools for user passwords. And if you don't know the password, go through the proper channels rather than trying to bypass security.