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OCR PDF

Make a scanned PDF actually readable — and editable.

Drop the scan. We read it, turn the image into real text, and give you back a PDF you can actually search, highlight, and edit. Free, no signup, no watermark.

Start here

Upload your file to start

Supported formats: Scanned PDF input with corrected searchable PDF output.

PDFSingle file

Upload a scanned PDF to review OCR text

Drag and drop or click to browse. Pdf Clarity opens Scan Mode first, then lets you choose OCR review when that is the right next step.

Drop files anywhere inside this panel.Processed locally — we never keep it.
Processed locallyFiles stay on this deviceNo account wallTrust details

What happens next

Your file opens in the matching tool so you can edit, convert, or export it without uploading it a second time.

  • No signup
  • No watermarks
  • Files deleted after 1 hour

Encrypted upload. Deleted in an hour. Never shared. Never trained on. Ever.

ISO/IEC 27001 (in progress)
GDPR compliant
TLS 1.3
Files deleted after 1 hour
No signup required

How to OCR a scan, end to end.

Three clicks from a dropzone on this page to a searchable PDF in your Downloads folder. Most scans finish in under a minute.

  1. Drop your scan on this page.

    Drag it from your desktop or click to browse. It uploads encrypted. We can't see it.

  2. Pick the language and run.

    Choose the OCR language that matches most of the pages, then watch the progress. You can step away — the browser keeps reading while you get a coffee.

  3. Download. We forget.

    Your searchable PDF lands in Downloads. Ctrl+F works now. So does copy-paste. Our copy is deleted within the hour.

What you can actually do on this page.

Four honest moves you can finish in the browser you're already in. No Adobe, no signup, no retyping the page you wanted to quote.

  • Scanned image to real text.

    OCR reads each page and drops a real text layer under the image. The page looks the same, but Ctrl+F finally finds what you're looking for.

  • Language-aware recognition.

    Pick the language that matches most of your pages. If your first pass misses characters, rerun it with a different language — no credits burned.

  • Progress you can watch.

    Live progress on every page so you know the long scan hasn't stalled. You can close the tab and come back on this device when it finishes.

  • No watermark, no signup.

    Your searchable PDF exports clean. No stamp, no account, no trial timer. Free means free, even for a 200-page archive scan.

Why people choose Pdf Clarity

  • Private by default

    Your PDFs are transferred over TLS and deleted within one hour. We don't look at them, and you don't need an account.

  • Fast and free

    Editing, annotating, signing, merging and splitting are free with no signup. Your first upload opens the editor in seconds.

  • Works in any browser

    Open the editor in Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge on Mac, Windows, Linux or Chromebook. You never install anything.

More ways to OCR a PDF

Scanned PDF to text

Turn a pile of scanned pages into text you can copy, search, and edit. The scan keeps its original layout, but you never have to retype a quoted passage again.

OCR handwritten PDFs

OCR is strongest on printed type and less reliable on cursive handwriting. You still get a searchable draft from clean handwriting that you can correct in the editor afterwards.

Extract text from PDF images

Pull selectable text out of PDFs that are just page images — invoices, receipts, old book scans, screenshots pasted into a PDF. You keep the original and download a searchable copy beside it.

Make a PDF searchable

Give your PDF a real text layer so file-manager search, Ctrl+F, and archive tools can find the words inside it. You stop having to open every scan just to check what it contains.

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers to what people ask us most about editing a PDF online for free. Tap any question and the answer expands inline.

Does OCR preserve the original layout?
Yes. Your page images stay in place and OCR adds a searchable text layer on top, so the document still looks the way it did. Complex columns, tables, or handwritten pages can still diverge from native-text fidelity.
What languages does OCR support?
Pick from a supported language list before recognition runs. Choose the one that matches most of your pages for the most accurate output, and rerun with a different language if your first pass misses characters.
Can I edit text in a scanned PDF?
After OCR finishes, the searchable PDF opens in the same editor so you can search, highlight, and continue working on your file. Deep native-text editing is still easier on PDFs that were born digital rather than scanned.
Is it really free? What's the catch?
There isn't one. OCR, editing, signing, merging — all free, for as long as you need it. No signup, no watermark, no trial timer.
Will my OCR PDF have a watermark?
Never. Not on free, not on Pro, not ever.
What happens to my file after I'm done?
Deleted within one hour of upload. Encrypted in transit and at rest. Never read by a human, never shared, never used to train anything.
Does it work on an iPad, Chromebook, or phone?
Yes. Any browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge. OCR on a phone still works; a laptop is smoother for big archive scans.
How big a scan can I run?
Up to 100 MB free. If your archive scan is bigger, the Pro tier handles up to 500 MB so the long reads still run in one pass.

Related PDF tools

Learn more

Ready to keep reading? You can go deeper on common tasks in the help center articles below.

You can also browse all PDF tools from the tools hub.