OCR PDF

Make scanned PDFs searchable and extract text

Guide & Overview

Turn Scanned Documents Into Searchable, Selectable PDFs

Unlock text trapped inside scanned paper documents, screenshots, and photos. Our open-source OCR engine extracts accurate text, enabling full searchability, copy-pasting, and digital editing.

How to OCR PDF Online in 3 Easy Steps

1

Upload Scanned PDF or Image

Drop your scanned PDF document or photo into the OCR workspace.

2

Process with OCR

Click to run optical character recognition on the uploaded pages.

3

Copy or Download Searchable File

Download your newly created searchable PDF or copy the extracted text directly.

Why Use MyPDFLabs to OCR PDF?

Fast, privacy-focused processing designed for privacy and performance.

High-Accuracy AI Recognition

Powered by proven character recognition models recognizing Latin, numeric, and symbol glyphs.

1-Hour Automated Cleanup

Scanned files and extracted text results are permanently removed within 60 minutes.

100% Free Forever

Extract text from multi-page scans without subscription fees or word count paywalls.

Searchable Output

Enables CTRL+F search, text selection, and screen reader accessibility across scanned pages.

Frequently Asked Questions About OCR PDF

How does OCR text extraction work?

Our OCR (Optical Character Recognition) engine processes scanned document pages and bitmap images, detecting characters, words, and paragraph layouts to generate selectable, searchable text.

What types of files can I run OCR on?

You can upload scanned PDF documents, photos of paper contracts, receipts, book pages, and images (PNG, JPG).

How can I get the most accurate OCR results?

Ensure your scan is high-resolution (300 DPI recommended), evenly lit, with minimal skew or shadow for optimal character recognition.

Are my scanned documents private and secure?

Yes. All uploaded files and extracted text files are stored in temporary, isolated directories and automatically deleted from our servers within 1 hour.