PDFkey · remove a password you know

Unlock a password-protected PDF — keep an open copy

Salary slips, bank statements, insurance papers and government downloads arrive locked, and then a portal, a printer shop or a relative's phone cannot open them. If you know the password, PDFkey saves a copy without it: it opens the file with your password inside your browser, removes the encryption and gives the PDF back with every page, font and image exactly as it was. Nothing is re-scanned or flattened, and the file never leaves your device.

No uploadNo password guessingOriginal untouchedFree

Needs: the password you already know · Output: the same PDF without the lock

Select locked PDFor drop it here · stays on your device

Password

PDFkey only uses what you type — it never guesses or tries lists of passwords. Unlock only documents you own or are authorised to open.

Made for

Salary slips and appointment letters from HR systems
Insurance policies, premium receipts and loan statements
Credit-card and bank statements (see the bank statement page for tips)
PDFs that open fine but refuse to print or let you copy text

How it works

You need the password. PDFkey uses only what you type; it never guesses or tries lists of passwords.
Two kinds of lock exist: an open password (the PDF asks for it) and restrictions (it opens, but printing or copying is blocked). Both are removed.
The unlocked copy keeps text selectable and pages identical — this is decryption, not re-rendering.
Your original file is not changed. Keep it: some documents carry a digital signature that is only valid on the original.
Only unlock documents that belong to you or that you are authorised to open.

Why doing this in your browser matters

Most "unlock PDF" websites upload your file to their server, and the documents people unlock are exactly the ones that should never be uploaded: salary details, account numbers, policy numbers, PAN. Other tools "unlock" by printing each page to an image, which makes text unsearchable and the file several times larger. PDFkey decrypts the PDF inside your browser tab — AES-256, AES-128 and older RC4 encryption — and writes the same document back without the lock, so a 300 KB statement stays about 300 KB with every number still selectable.

How to do it

Select the locked PDF. PDFkey tells you whether it needs a password or only has print/copy restrictions.
Type the password (tap the eye to check what you typed).
Press Unlock. The unlocked copy downloads, and page one is previewed to confirm it opens.

Questions

I forgot the password. Can PDFkey find it?

No. PDFkey does not guess or crack passwords — it only uses the password you know. Ask the sender how the password is formed; banks and employers usually say so in the email.

Will the unlocked file look different?

No. The pages, fonts, images and text are the same bytes, just without encryption. The file size stays close to the original.

Is it legal to remove a PDF password?

Removing the password from your own document, with a password you were given, is what the password is for. Do not unlock documents you are not entitled to open.

Does the digital signature stay valid?

Usually not on the unlocked copy, because the file changes. Keep the original for anyone who needs to verify the signature, and use the unlocked copy for reading, printing or uploading.

Is my document uploaded?

No. The PDF is opened and decrypted inside this browser tab. You can switch on flight mode after the page loads.

Also useful

PDFkey is independent and not affiliated with UIDAI, the Income Tax Department, any bank or employer. Use it only on documents you own or are authorised to handle.