A scanned document is really just a picture of a page: you can read it, but your computer can't. You can't search it, copy a sentence from it, or have a screen reader read it aloud. OCR (optical character recognition) analyses the page images and adds an invisible text layer underneath, so the PDF looks exactly the same but now behaves like a text document.
We use OCRmyPDF with the Tesseract engine and currently support English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German and Portuguese. Choosing the right language makes a real difference to accuracy, especially for accented characters and right-to-left Arabic text.
Your file is uploaded securely over HTTPS, processed on our servers and deleted automatically within an hour. For best results, start from a clean scan at around 300 DPI; blurry phone photos, handwriting and decorative fonts are recognised much less reliably.
How to OCR PDF
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1
Upload a scanned PDF
Select the PDF made from scans or photos.
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2
Select the language
Choose the language the document is written in.
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3
Run OCR
Each page is analysed and an invisible text layer is added.
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4
Download
Save the searchable PDF and try searching it with Ctrl+F or Cmd+F.
Features
Looks the same, works better
The page images are kept; the recognised text sits invisibly behind them for searching and copying.
Six languages
English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German and Portuguese.
Ready for conversion
An OCR'd PDF converts much better with PDF to Word and PDF to Excel.
Good to know
- Recognition quality depends on the scan. Low resolution, skewed pages, handwriting and unusual fonts produce more errors.
- OCR does not make the text editable in the PDF itself; convert to Word if you need to edit it.
- Maximum 100 MB and 500 pages per file. Large scans can take several minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether my PDF needs OCR?
Try selecting a word or searching for it. If you can't highlight text, or search finds nothing you can clearly see on the page, the PDF is image-only and OCR will help.
Is OCR perfectly accurate?
No OCR engine is. Clean, printed text at good resolution usually comes out well, but always proof-read important figures, names and numbers.
Which languages are supported?
English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German and Portuguese. Pick the language the document is written in for the best result.
Will OCR change how my PDF looks?
No. The text layer is invisible. The pages look the same; you just gain the ability to search and select text.
Can I edit the text after OCR?
OCR makes text searchable and copyable, not editable in place. Convert the OCR'd file with PDF to Word to edit it.
Is there a page limit?
Yes, up to 500 pages and 100 MB per file.