OCR PDF
Make a scanned PDF searchable online for free. No sign-up, no watermark — text becomes selectable and copyable in seconds.
Select a file or drop it here
.pdf · up to 25 MB
document.pdf
0 KB
0 images · one per page
Running OCR…
This usually takes a few seconds.
Select or drop your scanned PDF
We recognize the text on the server
Download a searchable, selectable PDF
Need something else? Compress PDF · PDF to Word
To OCR a PDF for free, upload a scanned PDF above and download a copy with an invisible, searchable text layer added underneath the original page images. The pages look the same, but the text becomes selectable, copyable, and searchable with Ctrl/Cmd+F. Pages that already contain text are left untouched. No sign-up, no email, and no watermark.
OCR PDF online — free online PDF text recognition
Got a scanned PDF you can't search or copy text from? Our Free OCR PDF tool works as a full PDF OCR converter right in your browser: it recognizes the text in your scan and adds it back as a searchable, selectable layer in seconds. The page still looks exactly like your scan; you just gain the ability to search it, select words, and copy text. There is nothing to install, no account to create, and no watermark added.
Make a scanned PDF searchable
A scanned PDF is really just a photo of a page — the text is pixels, not data, so you cannot search it, select it, or copy it. Our OCR PDF tool fixes that: it recognizes the text in every scanned page and adds it back in as an invisible layer sitting exactly under the original image. The page looks identical, but now Ctrl/Cmd+F finds words on it, and you can highlight and copy text like any normal document. In short, it will convert scanned PDF to searchable PDF and let you extract text from scanned PDF pages in one step.
How to OCR a PDF online free
It takes three steps: upload your scanned PDF above, we run optical character recognition on the server, and you download a searchable copy. Pages that already have real text are detected and left alone, so a mixed PDF — part scanned, part digital — comes back with every page searchable and nothing altered on the pages that did not need it. Whether you need to OCR scanned documents like contracts, invoices, or old reports, the process is the same three steps every time.
Free, private, and on every device
This free OCR PDF tool has no limits beyond a generous page cap, no watermark, and no catch. Your file is processed on the server and never written to disk or stored, then discarded the moment your download is ready. It works on any device, from Windows and Mac to iPhone and Android. Once your scan is searchable, our Compress PDF tool can shrink it further, or our PDF to Word tool can turn it into an editable document.
Free, private, and on every device
This OCR PDF tool has no limits, no watermark, and no catch. Your privacy is built in: your PDF is processed on the server and never written to disk or stored, then discarded the moment your download is ready. It works on any device, from Windows and Mac to iPhone and Android. Once your scan is searchable, our PDF to Word tool can turn it into a fully editable document.
Frequently asked questions
What does OCR mean for a PDF?
OCR stands for optical character recognition — software that reads the shapes of letters in a scanned image and turns them back into real text. For a PDF, that recovered text is added as an invisible layer under the original page image, so the page looks the same but the text becomes searchable and selectable.
Will OCR change how my PDF looks?
No. The original page images are kept exactly as they are — OCR only adds an invisible text layer underneath them. Nothing visible changes; you just gain the ability to search, select, and copy the text.
Can I OCR a PDF that already has some text pages?
Yes. Pages that already contain a real text layer are detected and skipped, so a document mixing scanned and digital pages comes back with every page searchable and no pages altered unnecessarily.
How accurate is the OCR text recognition?
Accuracy depends on the scan quality — clear, high-resolution, well-lit scans recognize best. Blurry, skewed, or handwritten pages may have recognition errors. Either way, the visible page is untouched, so the document is always readable even if a few characters are misrecognized.
What languages does OCR PDF support?
English and Hindi text are recognized in this version of the tool.
How do I make a scanned PDF searchable?
Upload your scanned PDF above and download the result. The tool preserves your document’s original layout while adding a hidden, searchable text layer underneath, so the text becomes selectable and searchable without changing how the page looks.
Can OCR recognize handwritten text?
OCR is built for printed text and works best on typed documents. Neat, block-style handwriting may be partially recognized, but cursive or messy handwriting typically produces lower accuracy.
Is OCR PDF free to use?
Yes. Making a scanned PDF searchable is completely free — no sign-up, no email, and no watermark on your file.
Does OCR work on scanned documents?
Yes. OCR is designed specifically for scanned or image-based documents — invoices, contracts, receipts, books, and reports all become searchable and selectable once processed.
Can I copy text from a scanned PDF after OCR?
Yes. Once OCR finishes, the recognized text sits in a real text layer under the page image, so you can select, copy, and search it exactly like a normal digital PDF.
What’s the difference between a scanned PDF and a searchable PDF?
A scanned PDF is really just a photo of a page — its "text" is pixels, so nothing can be searched, selected, or copied. A searchable PDF has an invisible OCR text layer added underneath the same page image, so it looks identical but the text can be found, selected, and copied.
How do I OCR a PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone, or Android?
The same way on every device. This is a free online OCR tool that runs in your browser, so there is nothing to install. Open this page on any device, upload your scanned PDF, and download the searchable result.
From the blog
Why You Can’t Select or Search Text in a PDF
Ctrl+F finds nothing, the cursor won’t highlight anything, copy gives you an empty clipboard. Here are the three causes and how to tell which one you have.
How to Make a Scanned PDF Searchable
A scanned PDF is just a photo of a page — you cannot search or copy its text. Here is how OCR fixes that, free, in seconds, with nothing changed visually.
Your privacy comes first
Every uploaded file is processed securely over an encrypted connection and is never written to disk or stored — it is automatically discarded the moment your download is ready. We never ask for an email address, and you never need to create an account before you can download your document. Read more in our Privacy Policy.
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Last updated: July 2026