Make PDF Searchable Online Free

To make a scanned PDF searchable, run OCR on it and save the recognised words as an invisible text layer behind each page image. Upload the PDF to FastOCR, sign in with a free account (20 pages a month), and download the searchable PDF. The page looks the same, but Ctrl+F, select and copy now work.

20 free PDF pages a month
100+ languages, detected automatically
PDFs up to 1 GB
TXT, Word and Markdown too

Drop your file here

PDF, PNG, JPG, WebP, BMP, HEIC

PDF up to 1 GB · images up to 20 MB

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Tips for a clear photo

Lay the page flat.
Use even light, with no shadows.
Turn off the flash to avoid glare.
Fill the frame with the page.

Try 3 images a day without an account. Sign in for unlimited free image OCR. PDFs need a free account.

How to make a scanned PDF searchable in 3 steps

Step 1
Check whether the PDF is scanned
Press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac) and search for a word you can see. If nothing is found, the pages are pictures of text. The free PDF searchability checker tells you page by page.
Step 2
Upload the scanned PDF
Drop the file into the uploader above and sign in. PDFs up to 1 GB and 10,000 pages are accepted. The language is detected automatically.
Step 3
Download the searchable PDF
When the job finishes, download the searchable PDF. The same result also gives you the text as TXT, Word (.docx) and Markdown.

Not sure if your file needs OCR? Check if your PDF is searchable for free, in your browser.

What a searchable PDF is

A searchable PDF shows the scanned page exactly as it was and keeps the recognised words in an invisible text layer placed over the matching spots on the page. PDF readers such as Adobe Acrobat, Apple Preview and web browsers use that layer for Ctrl+F search, selection and copy, and search tools and document systems use it to index the file. A scan without the layer is only pictures of text, so none of that works.

FastOCR places each recognised line where it sits on the scan, including right-to-left languages such as Arabic and Hebrew. PDF readers differ in how they copy right-to-left text; the multilingual text-layer results show what each common reader does with it.

Other ways to make a PDF searchable

FastOCR is not the only option. These are the common alternatives and when they fit better.

Adobe Acrobat

Acrobat Pro has a Scan & OCR tool on the desktop. Adobe also has a free online OCR tool that takes PDFs only and asks you to sign in to download.

Compare with FastOCR

PDF24

A free, ad-funded web tool with no registration. You pick the language by hand, and it can save the result as PDF/A.

Compare with FastOCR

OCRmyPDF

A free, open-source command-line tool built on Tesseract that adds a text layer to scanned PDFs and can save PDF/A. It runs on your own computer, so it suits people comfortable in a terminal.

OCRmyPDF documentation

Prefer to keep files on your computer? Get the free offline app for Mac or Windows.

Searchable PDF questions

What is a searchable PDF?

A searchable PDF is a PDF that shows the scanned page image and also holds the recognised words as an invisible text layer placed over the matching spots on the page. Because the text layer is there, PDF readers can search the document with Ctrl+F, and you can select, highlight and copy text. A scan without that layer is only pictures of text.

How do I make a PDF searchable for free?

Upload the scanned PDF to FastOCR and sign in with a free account. A free account includes 20 PDF pages a month with no credit card. FastOCR runs OCR on every page and gives you a searchable PDF to download, plus the text as TXT, Word and Markdown.

How can I tell if my PDF is already searchable?

Open it and press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac), then search for a word you can see on the page. If the reader finds it, the page already has text. If it finds nothing, the page is a scan. The free PDF searchability checker on FastOCR checks every page in your browser without uploading the file.

Will making a PDF searchable change how it looks?

A scanned page keeps its original image, and the text layer is invisible. If a page already had a text layer, for example from a scanner's own OCR, FastOCR replaces that old layer and redraws the page as a high-resolution image so the old text cannot clash with the new one.

Does FastOCR create PDF/A files?

No. FastOCR creates a standard searchable PDF, not a PDF/A file. If an archive requires PDF/A, use a tool that offers PDF/A output, such as PDF24 or the open-source OCRmyPDF.

Can I make Arabic, Urdu, Hindi or Chinese PDFs searchable?

Yes. FastOCR reads 100+ languages and detects the language of each page automatically, so there is no language menu. That includes right-to-left scripts such as Arabic, Urdu, Farsi and Hebrew, and scripts such as Hindi, Bengali, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Is my PDF kept private?

Files are encrypted in transit and at rest, kept separate for each account, and deleted automatically 30 days after upload. If you would rather not upload at all, the free FastOCR desktop apps for Mac and Windows make searchable PDFs offline on your own computer.