Convert Scanned PDF to Text — Free OCR Tool
Extract text from any scanned PDF or image using PDFJolt's free OCR tool. Upload your scanned document, select the language, and get editable text in seconds. You can copy text, download as .txt, or generate a searchable PDF — all processed in your browser, never uploaded to a server.
What Is a Scanned PDF?
A scanned PDF is created when a physical document is photographed or run through a scanner. Instead of containing text data, each page is stored as an image — a grid of pixels. This means you can see the text, but your computer can't read it. You can't search, select, copy, or edit the text in a scanned PDF without first running OCR.
Common sources of scanned PDFs include bank statements, government letters, medical records, legal contracts, receipts, old books, and faxed documents. If someone printed it and then scanned it (or photographed it with a phone), the result is a scanned PDF.
Step-by-Step: Extract Text from a Scanned PDF
Open PDFJolt's free OCR tool and upload your scanned PDF or image.
Select the language of the text in your document from the dropdown.
Choose your output: plain text (copy/download) or searchable PDF.
Click Extract Text and wait for processing — each page is analyzed individually.
Copy the extracted text, download the .txt file, or save the searchable PDF.
Tips for Better OCR Accuracy
Scan at 300+ DPI
Higher resolution gives the OCR engine more detail. 300 DPI is the standard for document scanning. Lower resolutions (72–150 DPI) produce blurry text that OCR struggles with.
Good contrast matters
Dark text on a light background produces the best results. Faded ink, colored backgrounds, and low-contrast documents reduce accuracy. If possible, adjust scanner settings for maximum contrast.
Straighten the document
Skewed or rotated text significantly reduces OCR accuracy. Align the document straight on the scanner bed or use your phone's document scanning mode, which auto-corrects perspective.
Select the right language
The OCR engine uses language-specific dictionaries to improve accuracy. Selecting the correct language helps it distinguish similar-looking characters and recognize common words.
Output Options
Plain text — Copy the extracted text to your clipboard or download as a .txt file. Ideal for pasting into Word, Google Docs, spreadsheets, or emails.
Searchable PDF — The original document with an invisible text layer overlaid. Looks identical to the original but supports Ctrl+F search, text selection, and copy-paste. Perfect for archiving and compliance.
Your scanned documents stay private
PDFJolt runs Tesseract.js entirely in your browser via WebAssembly. Your scanned PDFs and images are never uploaded to any server. No cloud processing, no data collection, no account required. Safe for bank statements, contracts, medical records, and personal documents.
Frequently Asked Questions
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