OCR PDF

OCR a PDF online. Detect texts on PDF documents and make them editable and searchable for free.

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How to OCR a PDF in 3 Simple Steps

Button labeled “Upload PDF File”.

Upload a PDF

Pick a PDF from your device and upload it to our PDF to OCR tool.
UI screenshot showing users selecting the file language with a button labelled “Recognize Text”.

Run OCR on PDF

Recognize the characters on PDF images and graphs.
Illustration showing the download page after using OCR PDF tool with a button labelled “Download”.

Get Selectable Text

After running OCR on your file, you can extract text from PDF. Easily download it and work with selectable text.
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What is OCR PDF?

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. Simply put, OCR software reads text from images and turns them into searchable and editable text.


OCR PDF is basically an OCR tool for PDF. Free PDF OCR online tools follow these simple steps for PDF text recognition:


  • Scan or Capture: A device (like a scanner or camera) creates a digital image of the document.
  • Clean the Image: The software removes spots, straightens lines, and fixes any tilt so letters are clear.
  • Recognize Each Character: It compares each letter shape (glyph) to patterns it knows—or uses advanced machine learning to identify text in different fonts or languages.
  • Create Editable Text: Finally, it saves the recognized words in a new file format you can search, copy, or modify.

Modern OCR can handle multiple languages as well as handwritten text.

Illustration depicting running OCR on a PDF file.
Illustration showing why you would want to OCR a PDF.

Why OCR a PDF?

OCR technology makes life easier whenever you need to handle scanned documents with text. Here are some common ways people use our PDF to OCR converter:


  • Searching Documents: Turn large scanned PDFs into searchable files so you can quickly find names, dates, or keywords.
  • Editing Old Documents: Convert historical records, typed reports, or photocopied notes into digital text that you can edit like a normal file.
  • Archiving and Organizing: Keep digital libraries of old paperwork, making it easy to store, catalog, and retrieve data.
  • Extracting Data: Make PDFs editable online for free. Easily copy text out of PDFs to reuse in spreadsheets, databases, or other documents without retyping.
  • Translating and Sharing: After conversion, you can translate text into different languages or share it more easily with teammates or friends.

Our PDF to OCR tool saves you time and effort by making scanned files easily searchable, and selectable. You can also make the PDF editable after OCR as well. Whether you’re a student, researcher, or business owner, our online OCR PDF tool helps you organize your documents and do more faster.

Key Features of our PDF OCR

Accurate Results

Accurate Results

Accurately detects most texts, including texts on images, tables, and graphs of PDF documents.

Fast Processing

Fast Processing

Process large files quickly to enhance your document management workflow.

Multilanguage detection

Multilanguage detection

You can correctly convert to OCR from a PDF even for different languages. Our free OCR PDF correctly detects standard languages, handwritten text, mathematical signs, Unicode, and glyphs.

Use from Any Device

Use from Any Device

Compatible with PC, Mac, iPhone, and Android. Works on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

Secure and Private

Secure and Private

Your files are secure. All documents are deleted shortly after processing to ensure privacy.

Easily Use for Free

Easily Use for Free

Access the tool online for free. No signup or software installation is required.

Additional Tools for Working with PDFs

CopyChecker is your go-to platform for managing your PDFs effectively. Explore free PDF tools powered by CopyChecker:

  • PDF Editor:  Make more advanced changes to your PDF, such as editing text and images.
  • PDF to Text: Try our PDF to Text tool to extract text from PDF documents.
  • PDF to Word: To preserve images and text formatting of the document, convert your documents to a Word file.
Other CopyChecker tools like PDF to Text, PDF Editor, and PDF to Word.

FAQs about OCR PDF

How many times can I use this tool for free?

As many as you want, the input file must be under 10 MB each time.

Can I upload files from cloud storage?

Yes. You can directly upload files from your Dropbox folder.

Does it detect other languages?

Yes! It accurately detects other languages as well as emojis and symbols.

What about password-protected PDFs?

Unlock the PDF by entering the password first. Then, convert it.

A Visual Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps to recognize text on a PDF and download the file.

Step 1: Upload Your File

  • Click the Upload PDF File button to select your document from your device, or simply drag and drop the file into the designated area. This initiates the OCR process.
Screenshot of step 1 showing a button labelled “Upload PDF File”.

Step 2: Select Language

Choose the language(s) of the text in your PDF by selecting from the available options. You can select up to three languages for more accurate detection. Once your selection is made, click Recognize Text to proceed.

Screenshot of step 2 where the user selects the language of the file and clicks the button labelled “Recognize Text”.

Step 3: Choose the Output Format

After the tool detects the text, select your preferred output format. Depending on your needs, You can choose either of the options:

  • PDF file (.pdf)
  • Text file (.txt)
Screenshot of step 3 where users choose the file format they want to download as - PDF or TXT.

Step 4: Download the File

  • Click the Download button to save the resulting file to your device. The file will now contain selectable and searchable text, ready for further editing or use.
Screenshot of the last step of using OCR PDF tool showing a button labelled “Download”.

Need help writing flawlessly? Try our Grammar checker for free.

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