OCR PDF — Extract Text from Scans
Use OCR to recognize text from scanned PDFs or images. Choose a language, wait while each page is rendered and recognized, then review and copy the extracted text.
Drop a scanned PDF or image (JPG, PNG) here or click to browse
How to OCR a PDF
- Select a scanned PDF or image file.
- Choose the language of the document.
- Wait for OCR to complete (may take a moment for multi-page PDFs).
- Copy the extracted text.
Features
- Works with scanned PDFs and image files (JPG, PNG)
- 10 language options including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese
- Multi-page PDF support with page markers in the output
- Uses PDF.js rendering and Tesseract OCR
- Copy text button for quick clipboard access
- OCR output should be reviewed before use
OCR PDF: recognize text from scans and images
Use OCR PDF when a PDF page is a scan or photo and the text cannot be selected. The page renders each PDF page, runs OCR with the selected language, and places the recognized text in a reviewable text area.
Example workflow
Upload a scanned receipt PDF, choose the document language, wait for the page-by-page OCR pass, and copy the extracted text after checking names, totals, and dates.
Limits to check
- Accuracy: OCR can misread low-contrast scans, rotated pages, handwriting, or unusual fonts.
- Speed: Multi-page PDFs take longer because each page is rendered and recognized separately.
- Output: This tool returns copied text; it does not create a searchable PDF file.
For related PDF work, try PDF to JPG Converter, JPG to PDF, Split PDF, or Compress PDF Online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can OCR take a while?
The page renders PDF pages and runs OCR on each page. Tesseract.js may also load worker or language assets before recognition starts, and multi-page scans take longer than single images.
My text is already selectable in the PDF. Do I need OCR?
No. OCR is for scanned PDFs or images where text is part of the picture. If you can select text in your PDF viewer, a text layer already exists and you can copy it directly.
Is OCR output always accurate?
No. OCR quality depends on scan clarity, language, rotation, contrast, and font shape. Review the extracted text before using it.