Lock a PDF before you email or share it: a tax return, a W-2, medical records or a signed lease. Only people who know the password can open the file, and you can also stop others from printing, copying or changing it.
Do it now in the free PDF editorOpens in your browser. No sign-up, no watermark — your PDF is never uploaded.
Open the PDF editor and choose your PDF. Make any edits or sign it first if you need to.
Click More in the toolbar and choose Protect PDF.
Type a password to open the PDF and repeat it. To also limit what others can do, tick Restrict printing, copying and editing, set a permissions password and choose what is allowed.
Click Protect and download. The protected copy is saved with “-protected” at the end of its name.
See how it works
1Click More in the toolbar
2Choose Protect PDF
1Type and repeat the password to open the PDF
2Optionally restrict printing, copying and editing
3Protect and download saves the locked copy
What you can restrict
Printing: allowed, low resolution only, or not allowed.
Copying text and images to other apps.
Editing the content and organizing pages: inserting, deleting or rotating them.
Adding comments and signatures, and filling in form fields. You can allow only form filling, for example on an application form.
Your edits are included
The protected file is made from the document as you see it in the editor, with your text, signatures, highlights, redactions, watermark, rotation and crop. After you protect a file, later downloads from the editor keep the same protection until you turn it off in the panel or use Unlock PDF.
Need to remove a password instead? Use Unlock PDF: open the file with its password and download a copy without protection.
Frequently asked questions
How secure is the password protection?
The file is encrypted with AES-256, the strongest encryption in the PDF standard and the same one Adobe Acrobat uses. Without the password the content can’t be read. How safe it is in practice depends on the password: use 12 or more characters with letters, numbers and symbols. The panel shows how strong your password is.
What is the difference between the open password and the permissions password?
The password to open the PDF is needed to view the file at all. The permissions password does not lock the file: anyone can open and read it, but printing, copying text or editing is limited until someone enters the permissions password. Use both if you want the file locked and restricted.
Do restrictions work in every PDF app?
Adobe Acrobat and Reader, Apple Preview, Chrome, Edge and most other PDF readers respect them. Some apps ignore restrictions, so they are not a substitute for real encryption. If the content must stay private, always set a password to open the PDF.
Will the protected PDF open on an iPhone, a Mac or in Adobe Reader?
Yes. AES-256 is supported by Adobe Reader 9 and later, Apple Preview and iOS, Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Android PDF viewers. Choose AES 128-bit only if the file must open in very old software such as Acrobat 7.
I forgot the password. Can you recover it?
No. The password is never stored or sent anywhere, and strong PDF encryption can’t be undone without it. Keep the original, unprotected file, or keep the password in a password manager.
Is my PDF or my password uploaded to a server?
No. Encryption runs entirely in your browser with the open-source qpdf engine, so the document and the password never leave your device.
Ready to try it?Drop your PDF into the editor and download the result in seconds.
