OCR PDF

Apply optical character recognition to make scanned PDFs searchable.

Select PDF file

Upload a scanned PDF for OCR

OCR PDF reads the text inside a scanned or image-based PDF and adds a searchable, selectable text layer, so you can find and copy content that used to be locked inside a picture of a page.

How it works

1Upload a scanned or image-based PDF.
2Run OCR.
3Download a version with searchable text.

Frequently asked questions

What languages does OCR support?

Common Latin-alphabet languages are supported; accuracy is best on clear, well-lit scans.

Does OCR change how the page looks?

No — OCR adds an invisible text layer behind the existing page image, so the visual layout is unchanged.