OCR PDF
Extract the text layer from a PDF so you can search, copy, or reuse the content.
Select PDF files
or drag and drop files here
Got a password-protected PDF? Unlock it here first
How to OCR PDF – Extract Text
1
Upload your PDF
Select a PDF that already contains a text layer (if you can select text in a normal PDF viewer, it has one).
2
Select output format
Choose whether you want a fully searchable PDF or a plain, editable text file.
3
Extract text
The tool reads the existing text layer from each page and converts it into a clean, reusable format.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this work on scanned documents that are just photos of text?▼
This tool reads text layers that are already embedded in a PDF using the pdf.js engine, so it works best on PDFs that already contain real text. A pure image-only scan with no text layer needs full optical character recognition, which requires server-side processing (like Tesseract OCR) rather than the in-browser extraction this tool performs.
How do I know if my PDF already has a text layer?▼
Try selecting or highlighting text on the page in a normal PDF viewer — if you can select individual words, there's a text layer present and this tool will extract it cleanly.
What output formats can I choose?▼
Pick a searchable PDF if you want to keep the original look while making the content selectable and searchable, or a plain text file if you just need the raw words to paste elsewhere.
Does this handle handwritten notes?▼
No, this tool extracts existing digital text layers rather than performing image-based character recognition, so handwriting isn't something it can read.
Is my document processed on your servers?▼
No, text extraction happens entirely inside your browser using pdf.js, so your document's content is never uploaded anywhere.