OCR PDF — Extract Text from Scanned PDFs Free
Run optical character recognition on any scanned or image-only PDF to extract a searchable text layer. Powered by Tesseract.js running entirely in your browser via WebAssembly.
Drop a scanned PDF here
Processing OCR...
About OCR PDF
Scanned and photographed PDFs contain images of text, not text itself, which makes them impossible to search, select, or edit. ILikePdf OCR runs Tesseract's recognition engine directly in your browser to convert image-based PDFs into searchable documents or extracted text. You can select the source language for better accuracy and choose between a searchable PDF (original appearance plus hidden text layer) or plain text output. No document ever leaves your device, making this a privacy-safe choice for sensitive archives.
How to OCR a scanned PDF OCR PDF
Common use cases for OCR PDF
- Make scanned documents searchable with Ctrl+F.
- Extract editable text from photos of documents.
- Digitize paper archives into searchable PDFs.
- Convert old faxes and scans into text for data entry.
Pro tips
- Higher-resolution scans produce better OCR results.
- Searchable PDF mode keeps the original appearance while adding a hidden text layer.
- OCR runs fully offline on your device — ideal for sensitive documents.
Frequently Asked Questions
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) makes scanned PDFs searchable and selectable. Text in images is recognized and embedded as a hidden text layer — the original scan is unchanged but you can now copy, search, and highlight text.
Yes. The OCR engine (Tesseract via WebAssembly) runs entirely in your browser. No upload, no server, no privacy concerns. Your scanned document stays on your device.
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and 30+ more languages. Select multiple languages if your document is multilingual.
No. OCR adds a hidden text layer over the original scanned image. The visual output looks identical — only the underlying searchability and selectability are added.
Accuracy depends on scan quality. Clean 300+ DPI scans with standard fonts achieve 99%+ accuracy. Handwriting, decorative fonts, and low-resolution scans will have lower accuracy.