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PDF OCR Online

Add searchable text to scanned PDFs with OCR on your device or secure processing.

No registration
  • Stays on your device

Browse more in PDF or all tools.

How do I make a scanned PDF searchable with OCR?

Upload the scanned or image-only PDF and run OCR to add a text layer. Afterward you can search, copy, and convert more reliably than from raw page images. Multi-page scans take longer; skewed or low-contrast pages may need a cleaner rescan. Keep the original file if you need an untouched archive copy.

Private on your device

Your information stays on your device and is not uploaded.

Related tools

Run PDF OCR online to turn scanned images into searchable, selectable text layers. Upload a scan or photo PDF, apply optical character recognition, and download a searchable PDF for copy-paste, find, and accessibility.

OCR accuracy depends on scan quality—300 DPI, straight pages, and good contrast improve results dramatically.

Run OCR before PDF-to-Word conversion on scans; otherwise you only get images in the output document.

How to use this tool

Upload your scanned PDF, run OCR, and download the searchable output. Proofread critical numbers and names—OCR is not perfect.

Worked example

Example: OCR a 20-page scanned contract so you can search for 'termination' and copy clauses into email without retyping.

When to use this

  • Digitizing paper archives for search.
  • Preparing scans for copy-paste or translation.
  • Meeting accessibility requirements for text selection.

Common examples

  • Phone photo scan of a receipt → searchable text export where you can copy line items after proofreading totals.
  • Old faxed letter PDF → text extracted so keyword search works in document management systems.
  • Multi-page handwritten notes scan → OCR quality depends on scan DPI; proofread before archiving.
  • Five-page typed scan at 300 DPI → searchable PDF for keyword find in Preview.
  • Historical newspaper clip scan → expect errors on faded serif fonts; proofread names.

Common mistakes

  • OCR on skewed or low-resolution phone photos.
  • Trusting OCR for legal amounts without manual verification.
  • Expecting perfect recognition on handwriting.

How it works

Runs optical character recognition on scanned or image-heavy PDF pages to add a searchable text layer so you can find, copy, and convert content more reliably than from raw images alone.

Limitations

Text recognition accuracy depends on scan quality, fonts, and language. Review extracted text before relying on it for legal, medical, or financial decisions.

Privacy and file handling

Your data stays on your device and is not uploaded.

Formula or method

Word bounding boxes position invisible text over scanned page images. Pages containing native text are copied unchanged. Recognition is imperfect: review names and numbers. Export does not preserve digital signatures.

Related OCR PDF pages

These pages use the same ocr pdf with examples tailored to different tasks.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does OCR work on handwriting?

Printed text works best. Handwriting recognition is limited and often inaccurate.

Will file size increase?

Searchable text layers add some size, but compression can offset the difference.

Is my document stored?

See the tool privacy note. Server-processed files are deleted automatically within about one hour.

Related pages

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