OCR a scanned PDF in your browser: every page is recognised and you get a searchable PDF or text to copy. Free, no sign-up, the PDF is never uploaded.
Runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded. How it works
OCR PDF Online recognises the text on every page of a scanned PDF, so you can finally copy, search and paste it. The OCR engine runs inside your browser, which means the PDF is never uploaded, an important difference for contracts, ID scans and medical records.
When you need OCR
You have
What OCR gives you
A scanned contract or letter
Text to quote, translate or search
A PDF from a phone scan app
Words you can paste into a document
An old report saved as images
Searchable text for notes
A PDF where copying gives gibberish
Clean text read from the page images
A scan you need to search later
A searchable PDF that looks like the original
What you get
The recognised text appears in an editable box, page by page, with optional “Page N” headings. Copy it, download it as a .txt file, or download a searchable PDF: the same pages with an invisible text layer, so you can search and select words in any PDF reader. Long documents can be stopped part-way; the pages read so far are kept.
Frequently asked questions
Does this create a searchable PDF?
Yes. Click Download searchable PDF when reading is done. The pages look exactly the same, with the recognised text placed invisibly over the words, so Ctrl+F, selecting and copying work in any PDF reader. Your original file is not changed.
Why is every page recognised on this page?
Recognise every page as an image is switched on here, so even pages with a broken or partial text layer are read from the page image. Untick it to copy existing text directly, which is faster.
How accurate is the OCR?
Clean printed pages are read very well. Check names, numbers and amounts before you rely on them, and expect more mistakes on faint copies, handwriting or text at an angle.