OCR PDF
Recognise the text inside scanned pages and get back a searchable, selectable document.
Files stay on your device
or drop it here
About OCR PDF
Scanned PDFs are often made from images, which means the text cannot be selected or edited like normal digital text. OCR text recognition helps identify characters in scanned pages and turn them into searchable or editable text. Our PDF OCR online tool can process supported scanned PDF documents and recognize text within their pages. With this free OCR tool you can convert scanned notes, forms, receipts, books, applications, and archived documents into text that can be searched, copied, or processed.
How to ocr pdf
- 1Upload your scanned PDF.
- 2The OCR system analyzes the pages.
- 3Text characters are recognized.
- 4Choose the available output option.
- 5Download the processed document.
Supported file types
A scanned or image-only PDF (.pdf).
You get back: A PDF with an invisible text layer, so the words can be searched and selected.
Good to know before you start
- Recognition accuracy depends on scan quality; faint, skewed or handwritten pages read poorly.
- Recognising a long document takes time because every page is analysed.
- Everything runs in your browser tab, so the practical size ceiling is your device's memory — a very large document is slower on a phone than on a laptop.
Why use this tool
OCR PDF to Word
If you need to edit the recognized text, use OCR PDF to Word conversion to create an editable Word document, or convert PDF to Word OCR when the source PDF contains scanned pages.
Scanned PDF to editable PDF
OCR can turn a scanned document into a searchable or editable representation, and you can edit scanned PDF online free after the text has been recognized, depending on the available editing features.
Accuracy depends on the scan
OCR accuracy depends on image quality, font style, language, page layout, handwriting, and scanning quality.
Frequently asked questions
What is OCR text recognition?
OCR text recognition is technology that identifies printed characters inside images or scanned documents and converts them into machine-readable text.
Can I use PDF OCR online?
Yes. PDF OCR online tools can recognize text in supported scanned PDF files.
Can OCR convert PDF to Word?
Yes. OCR PDF to Word conversion can help create an editable Word document from a scanned PDF.
Can I edit a scanned PDF online?
You can use an edit scanned PDF online free workflow when OCR and editing functionality are available.
What is an OCR tool for PDF?
An OCR tool for PDF recognizes text contained in scanned or image-based PDF pages.
Is there a free PDF OCR tool?
Yes. You can use the free OCR tool to recognize text from supported PDF documents.