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OCR PDF – make a scanned PDF searchable

Recognise English text in a scanned PDF and download a searchable PDF plus a .txt file. Up to 15 pages, and the PDF is never uploaded.

  • No uploadYour files are processed on your device and never sent anywhere.
  • FastNo upload or download wait – results appear in seconds.
  • Free, no signupNo account, no watermark and no daily limit.
OCR PDF

Processed in your browser. Files are never uploaded.

English only. Scanned pages are redrawn as images with a hidden text layer so you can search them. The first run downloads the English recognition data into this browser. The PDF is not uploaded. Up to 15 pages at a time.

or drop a file here

How to use the ocr pdf

  1. Choose a scanned PDF (English, up to 15 pages).

  2. Wait while each page is read. The first run downloads the English language data.

  3. Download the searchable PDF and, if you need it, the plain text.

  • No uploadYour files are processed on your device and never sent anywhere.
  • FastNo upload or download wait – results appear in seconds.
  • Free, no signupNo account, no watermark and no daily limit.

OCR a scanned PDF and make it searchable

Drop in a scanned PDF and the OCR tool reads the English text on each page. You get a searchable PDF, where the page looks the same but you can now search and select words, plus a plain-text file you can copy from. It handles up to 15 pages, and the recognition runs in your browser, so the document is not uploaded.

OCR or PDF to text?

Your PDF Use
Scanned pages or photos of paper, where text can’t be selected OCR PDF (this page)
Digital PDF (text can already be selected) PDF to text

When to use it

  • Search a scanned letter, notice or agreement for a word or a number.
  • Copy a paragraph out of a scanned book page or a printed form.
  • Check what a scanner actually captured.

Tips for better accuracy

  • Scan at 300 DPI, straight and with good contrast.
  • Crop dark borders and rotate pages upright first (Rotate PDF).
  • Over 15 pages? Use Split PDF and run each part.

Limits

English printed text only. Handwriting, stamps and non-Latin scripts are not handled. The text layer can contain mistakes. The first run downloads the English language data, which takes a moment.

Shrink the searchable PDF with Compress PDF, or save pages as images with PDF to JPG.

Frequently asked questions

What is OCR?

Optical character recognition reads letters in an image, such as a scanned page, and turns them into real text you can search, select and copy.

My PDF is not scanned. Do I need OCR?

Probably not. If you can already select text in the PDF, use PDF to text. It is faster and exact.

Which languages are supported?

English only on this page. Hindi and other scripts are not recognised yet.

Why is there a 15-page limit?

Each page is rendered and read in your browser, which uses a lot of memory. Split a longer PDF and run it in parts.

How accurate is it?

Clear printed English is usually read well. Handwriting, stamps, low-resolution photos and tilted pages are not. Proofread the text before you rely on it.

Is my PDF uploaded?

No. Recognition runs in your browser. Only the language data is downloaded, once.

Related tools

PDF to textExtract the text from a PDF as plain text or Markdown with headings.Split PDFSplit a PDF into single pages, custom ranges or equal parts.Compress PDFReduce PDF file size with a quality preset or a target size in KB.PDF to JPGConvert PDF pages to high-quality JPG or PNG images.Merge PDFCombine multiple PDFs into one file in the order you choose.

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