OCR PDF
Make a scanned PDF searchable by recognizing its printed English text and adding an invisible text layer while preserving the original page images.
How to OCR a PDF
- Select a scanned PDF from your device.
- Select Make PDF searchable. The browser renders each eligible page and recognizes its English text.
- Download the new searchable PDF. Use your PDF reader's search or text selection to check the recognized text.
OCR (optical character recognition) converts text visible in page images into machine-readable text. This tool adds that text invisibly over the page image, rather than rebuilding or replacing the scan. It is intended for printed English text; handwriting, low-resolution scans, unusual fonts, tables and faint marks can reduce accuracy.
Private, browser-based OCR
The PDF is processed locally in your browser and is not uploaded to our application server. The browser downloads the OCR engine and English language data from their public CDN on first use; these files may be cached for subsequent use. The original PDF is not modified.
The first run can take longer while OCR assets are downloaded. Large documents use significant memory and processing time. Password-protected or damaged PDFs may fail. Rotated scanned pages should be corrected with Rotate PDF first; pages with existing selectable text are left unchanged.
What to check after OCR
Recognition is not guaranteed to be exact. Review names, dates, serial numbers, financial amounts and other important text against the original scan before sharing or relying on the document. OCR improves search and copy-and-paste; it does not verify the truth or correctness of the recognized content.