OCR PDF
A scanned PDF is a stack of pictures: you can read it, but you can't search it, select it, or copy from it. OCR fixes that: the same pages come back with real text underneath, invisible but fully searchable.
Uploaded for temporary server processingSelect a scanned PDF or drag & drop
One PDF, up to 20 pages
This tool uploads your file to our server. OCR PDF needs server-side processing, so your file is sent over HTTPS and handled using temporary server files in a separate job directory. Cleanup is attempted when processing ends, but immediate or secure deletion cannot be guaranteed. Don't use this tool for files you can't upload to a third party.
How to ocr pdf
- Select your scanned PDF. Choose or drag in the file: scans, photos of documents, faxes.
- Run OCR. Press Make searchable. Each page is rendered and its text recognized (about a second per page).
- Download. Get the same pages with an invisible text layer on top: searchable, selectable, copyable.
Want more detail? Read our full guide: How to make a scanned PDF searchable.
Why OCR a scanned PDF?
To a computer, a scanned page is a photograph: a grid of pixels that happens to look like text to human eyes but contains no actual letters. That's why a scanned PDF feels broken the moment you try to do anything with it beyond reading: Ctrl+F highlights nothing, you can't select a sentence to quote, copy-paste produces empty space, and no tool can pull out a name, a total or a date. Whole archives of contracts, invoices, letters and old reports end up locked this way, technically saved but practically unsearchable.
OCR (optical character recognition) closes that gap. It examines the image the way you do, works out which shapes are which letters, and writes the result into an invisible text layer positioned directly beneath the picture of each page. The document looks pixel-for-pixel identical, but it has quietly gained a searchable, selectable text backbone. That one change unlocks a lot:
- Finding a clause or figure with a single search
- Copying quotes and data instead of retyping them
- Feeding the file into extraction, comparison or translation tools
- Making a years-old scanned archive genuinely findable
Accuracy depends on the source: a clean scan of clear, printed text comes back near-perfect, while handwriting, very low resolution, skewed pages and heavy speckle give any OCR engine trouble. Scanning at 200 dpi or higher is the single best thing you can do for a good result. Recognition uses Tesseract and PDF utilities on our server, so your file travels over HTTPS and is processed using temporary server files in a separate job directory. Cleanup is attempted when processing ends, but immediate or secure deletion cannot be guaranteed.
Frequently asked questions
Is my file uploaded?
Yes. This tool uses Tesseract and PDF utilities on our server. Your file is sent over HTTPS and processed using temporary server files in a separate job directory; cleanup is attempted when processing ends, but immediate or secure deletion cannot be guaranteed.
What is OCR exactly?
Optical Character Recognition: software that looks at the picture of text and works out what letters it shows. A scan is just an image to a computer. OCR is what turns 'a picture of page 4' into text you can search and copy.
Does it change how my document looks?
No. The pages look identical: OCR adds an invisible text layer underneath the image. What changes is what you can do with it: search, select, copy, and quote in other tools.
How accurate is it?
On a clean scan of clear text, very: near-perfect on typical documents. It struggles with handwriting, very low resolution, skewed pages and heavy noise. Scanning at 200 dpi or higher helps a lot.
Which languages work?
English currently. If you need other languages, tell us. The engine supports adding them.
What's the page limit?
20 pages per run (OCR is CPU-heavy). For longer documents, split the PDF, OCR the parts, then merge them back.