How do I stop a PDF asking for a password every time I open it?

Unlock it once and keep the copy. The unlock tool takes the password you already know and writes a copy that opens with no dialog, in any reader and on any device.

Do I still need the password to make the copy?

Yes, unless the file is the permissions-only kind that already opens without one. There is no route that skips the password on a file that will not open.

Will the copy still say who wrote the document?

Yes. Title, author, subject, keywords, producer and the dates are carried across. Run the privacy scan on the copy if you want those removed.

Is it safe to keep an unlocked bank statement?

That depends on where it sits. A synced cloud folder or a phone backup makes it readable by anything with access to those. Unlock a working copy when you need one and delete it afterwards.

Why does my reader keep asking even after I saved the file?

Saving from a viewer usually writes the same encrypted file back, so the prompt returns. What you need is a copy written without the encryption, which is what the unlock tool produces. The protected original stays as it was.

Save a PDF without its password

Unlock PDF

The steps

Open the unlock tool, choose the file, type the password once, and download the copy. It opens with no dialog from then on, in any reader, on any device you move it to.

Everything happens in the browser tab. The PDF is not uploaded and the password is not transmitted, which is the only sane arrangement for this particular job. Anything that asks you to upload a protected file and its password is asking for both halves of the lock.

What you get

A complete copy. Every page comes across with its content, its text still selectable, its images unchanged and its size the same. Links inside a page keep working.

The document properties travel too, so title, author, subject, keywords, producer and the creation and modification dates are all still there. The copy is meant to be the same document minus the lock, not a scrubbed one. If you want them gone as well, the privacy scan is the tool that removes them on purpose.

It does not touch the original

The protected file is still protected and still on your machine. Nothing is modified in place, which means an unlock that goes wrong costs you nothing and you can try again.

Give the copy a different name straight away. Two files called statement.pdf, one of which opens and one of which does not, is a small problem now and an irritating one in six months.

Whether you should

Think about who can read the folder. A password on a bank statement is doing something real, and a copy without it in a shared downloads directory, a synced cloud folder or a phone backup is readable by anything that reaches those places.

A reasonable middle path is to unlock a working copy when you need to do something with the document, then delete the copy afterwards and keep the protected original as the version you file. That is a habit rather than a setting, so it only works if you decide on it.

The version that has no password to type

Some files never ask for a password and still refuse to be printed or copied from. Those carry a permissions password rather than an open one, and the unlock tool clears them without needing anything from you, because the file already opens with an empty password.

If that is your case, saving a copy without the restriction takes one step and no typing at all. The decryption guide explains what the two kinds of protection are doing underneath.

Putting it back later

A copy you unlocked can be protected again with a new password on the protect page, which is useful when you need to pass a document on to somebody else with a password they can actually be given.

The password removal guide covers the same operation in more detail, and the password hub lists the rest of the cluster.

What the tool checks before handing it over

An unlocked copy is only useful if it is genuinely unlocked. The tool reopens the finished file without supplying any password at all and confirms that it no longer reports as encrypted. If that fails, you get nothing to download rather than a file that behaves oddly later.

That matters because a half-unlocked PDF is a problem you discover at the worst moment, when another program refuses it or when a recipient sees a password dialog you were sure you had removed.

Questions people ask

How do I stop a PDF asking for a password every time I open it?: Unlock it once and keep the copy. The unlock tool takes the password you already know and writes a copy that opens with no dialog, in any reader and on any device.
Do I still need the password to make the copy?: Yes, unless the file is the permissions-only kind that already opens without one. There is no route that skips the password on a file that will not open.
Will the copy still say who wrote the document?: Yes. Title, author, subject, keywords, producer and the dates are carried across. Run the privacy scan on the copy if you want those removed.
Is it safe to keep an unlocked bank statement?: That depends on where it sits. A synced cloud folder or a phone backup makes it readable by anything with access to those. Unlock a working copy when you need one and delete it afterwards.
Why does my reader keep asking even after I saved the file?: Saving from a viewer usually writes the same encrypted file back, so the prompt returns. What you need is a copy written without the encryption, which is what the unlock tool produces. The protected original stays as it was.

Do it now

The tool runs in this browser. Your file never leaves the machine, and the result is checked before you download it.

Unlock PDF

Where to go next

Unlock PDF Save a copy of a PDF you can already open, without its password.
Remove a password from a PDF Save a copy without the password you have to type every time.
How to decrypt a PDF file Understand what decrypting a PDF does and does not mean.
PDF password help Find the right guide for a locked or protected PDF.