Make a Scanned PDF Searchable

Your PDF is a scanned image - you can't select text, search for words, or copy anything from it.

Use Ask PDF: upload the scanned document and type "make this PDF searchable". OCR recognises the text and adds a hidden, searchable layer.

Choose file(s) to upload

Files up to 700 MB

Frequently asked questions

What is OCR?

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) reads the image of text in a scanned PDF and adds an invisible text layer. After OCR, you can search, select, and copy text from the PDF.

Does the PDF look different after making it searchable?

No. The visual appearance of every page is unchanged. Only a hidden text layer is added, making it searchable in PDF readers and search engines.

What languages does OCR support?

Ask PDF's OCR covers all major languages using AI-powered text recognition.

Related problems

OCR PDF - Make Text Selectable A scanned PDF without a text layer can't be searched, copied from, or indexed by search engines. Remove Blank Pages from PDF Scanned documents and exported PDFs often contain unwanted blank or near-blank pages that add file size and look unprofessional. Resize PDF to A4 Your PDF has mixed page sizes - Letter, A3, or custom - and you need everything in A4.