OCR PDF
Run optical character recognition so the text in a scanned PDF becomes selectable and searchable.
🔒 This tool processes your file on our secure server. Files are sent over an encrypted connection.
Make scanned PDFs searchable (OCR).
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Run OCR on a scanned PDF to turn flat page images into real, selectable text you can search, copy, and edit. Our optical character recognition reads scans, photographed pages, and image-only PDFs, then rebuilds them as a fully searchable PDF with an invisible text layer over the original look. It's free, fast, and secure — ideal for digitizing receipts, contracts, books, and old archives so you can find any word in seconds. No sign-up and no watermark.
How to OCR PDF
- Upload the scanned PDF you want to make searchable.
- Pick the document language for the best recognition accuracy.
- Run OCR and download your searchable PDF.
Frequently asked questions
Is this OCR tool free to use?
Yes, it is completely free with no sign-up, installation, or watermark. You can convert scanned PDFs to searchable text online as often as you like, with no usage caps for everyday documents.
Are my files kept private?
Your PDF is uploaded over an encrypted connection and processed on a secure server, then is not shared with anyone. For highly confidential records, avoid posting them publicly and delete your local copies once you have your searchable file.
Which languages and file types does the OCR support?
It recognizes dozens of languages, including English and accented European, Cyrillic, and many Asian scripts. Choose the document language for the best accuracy. It accepts scanned and image-based PDFs and outputs a standard searchable PDF.
Will the layout and image quality stay the same?
Yes. OCR adds an invisible text layer behind your original page image, so the scan looks identical while the text becomes selectable and searchable. Clear, high-resolution scans give the most accurate recognition results.
Can I use it on my phone or to OCR multi-page PDFs?
Yes. The tool runs in any modern browser on mobile, tablet, or desktop, with no app to install. It processes multi-page scanned PDFs in one pass and returns a single searchable file to download.