How to remove the password from a PDF statement you own
Banks, payroll providers and tax offices often email statements as password-protected PDFs. That protects the file on its way to you. Once it is safely on your own computer, the password mostly gets in the way: you type it every time you open the file, search cannot look inside it, and you cannot merge a year of statements into one document.
If the document is yours and you know the password, saving an unprotected copy is straightforward. All three methods below keep the file on your device — worth insisting on, given what a bank statement contains.
Method 1: in your browser, with ShyPDF
- Open Unlock PDF and choose the file.
- Type the password, and confirm that the document is yours to unlock.
- Click “Unlock PDF”. A copy that opens without a password is saved to your downloads folder.
The file and the password are processed in your browser by qpdf, an open-source PDF library, and neither is uploaded. The copy is otherwise identical to the original: text stays selectable, and nothing is re-compressed.
Method 2: print to PDF
Open the PDF in Chrome or Edge, enter the password, then choose Print and set the destination to Save as PDF. The saved copy has no password. This needs no tools at all, but it only works if the document permits printing, and the result is a re-generated file: bookmarks and links are usually lost, and the file size can change.
Method 3: Preview on a Mac
Open the file in Preview and enter the password. Choose File → Export…, click Permissions… (or Show Details, depending on your macOS version) and make sure no password is required to open the document, then save under a new name.
What none of these will do
All three methods require the password. Neither ShyPDF nor your browser can open a PDF whose password you do not know, and we do not offer password cracking. If you have lost the password to a statement, ask the sender: banks usually document the scheme they use (often a combination of your date of birth, postcode or customer number) or can issue the document again.
Storing the unlocked copies safely
Removing the password removes a layer of protection, so put something in its place:
- Keep unlocked statements on a device with full-disk encryption turned on (FileVault on a Mac, BitLocker or Device Encryption on Windows). Phones are encrypted by default when they have a passcode.
- If you need to send one to an accountant or a landlord, add your own password — one you choose, shared through a different channel than the file.
- Sending only part of a statement? Extract the pages that are needed rather than sharing the whole thing.