What to Do If I Forgot My PDF Password? (5 Steps to Follow)

“I created a PDF file long ago, but now I have forgotten the password. How can I recover my password or open the file?” – from Adobe Community

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation to this one? This commonly asked question highlights a frustrating challenge many face when dealing with password-protected PDF documents. If you’veforgot PDF password settings on an important PDF and need access to the file, this blog has the answer— we’ll highlight several solutions to help regain access to your password-protected PDF documents.

Step 1: Know the Types of PDF Password You Forgot

Before we can explore the options to fix the forgotten PDF password issue, it’s essential to understand the two types of PDF passwords that safeguard your documents:

• Open Password: An Open password protects sensitive information, allowing only authorized users to view the file. This password is required to open and view the contents of a PDF document, without this password, you can’t access the document at all.
• Permission Password: A Permission Password restricts the actions performed in a document. If you’ve forgotten this password, you can open the PDF, but your ability to edit, copy, or print information in this document will be limited.

Knowing which type of password you’ve forgotten is extremely important, as this will help you understand which approach you need to take when recovering your PDF document. In the next section, we’ll guide you through the first step to remembering a forgotten PDF password.

Step 2: Try Commonly Used Password

If you’ve been locked out of a PDF document due to a forgotten password, the easiest solution is to try entering some of your commonly used passwords. Think about the passwords you use frequently— these may include names of your family members, birthdays, or important dates. There is no limit on the number of password attempts you can make, so try everything that comes to mind.

For the most effective way to handle this task, we recommend using UPDF to open your PDF documents. UPDF allows you to open your password-protected PDF files and attempt to enter your password for free— and if successful in accessing your PDF— UPDF allows you the option to remove or change the password:

Step 1: Entering Your Password

Start by downloading UPDF by clicking the button below, open the application on your device, click “Open File”, and find the PDF document you need access to. Next, type in your commonly used passwords until you find the correct one.

Step 2: Remove or Change Your Password

Once you have access to your PDF document, click on the “File” menu and select “Password Protection.” Here you’ll find the options to remove or change the password on your document.

For a detailed demonstration of removing passwords from PDF files take a look at the video below.

UPDF is the ideal PDF management tool when you need access to password-protected documents and that’s not all— UPDF offers many great additional features. Check out this comprehensive review for more details on the amazing things UPDF can do. If you’d like to try out UPDF for yourself by clicking the button below to see if it suits your PDF management needs!

Step 3: Ask for Help or Find an Older Version of the PDF

If you’ve tried commonly used passwords and are still unable to access your PDF document, you might need to ask for help in resolving your problem by doing one of the following:

• Ask the Sender: If the PDF was received from someone else, you should start by contacting that person. The original owner may have the password you need or be able to resend the document without password protection.
• Find an Older Version: Sometimes, an older version of the document may exist without any password protection enabled. Check your Recycle Bin or see if you can find older versions saved in other folders on your system.
• Redownload the PDF: If downloaded from a website, you can try downloading the document again to see if the file is still password-protected.

These 3 methods are simple fixes if you’ve forgotten your PDF password and by utilizing them, you may regain access to your PDF. Next, we’ll look at removing the password on your document.

Step 4: Remove Password

Still can’t gain access to your PDF? The next solution is to remove the password from the file. Below we’ll show you how to remove both Permission and Open passwords.

1. Remove Permission Password

To remove a Permission Password, we recommend using Ajoysoft PDF Password Remover. This tool can remove passwords in bulk and is very affordable, saving you time and money. That’s not all, if you purchase UPDF today, you will get Ajoysoft PDF Password Remover for FREE!

Step 1: Adding Your PDF

Open the Ajoysoft application and click the “Add Files” button to import the password-protected PDF.

Step 2: Removing Passwords with Ajoysoft PDF Password Remover

Next, click on the “Remove Password” option to begin the process, afterwards you’ll have access to your PDF with no restrictions.

2. Remove Open Password

If it’s an Open Password you need removing then we recommend iSunshare PDF Password Genius, this tool is designed to recover and remove open passwords.

Open the iSunshare application click the “Add” button, select your PDF then simply follow the prompts to recover or remove the password.

Whether it's a Permission or Open password, the tools above will help you unlock and regain access to your PDF documents.

Step 5: Create the PDF from Scratch

If the previous options are not accessible— whether due to budget or the contents of the PDF are simple to recreate— you can create a new PDF from scratch using UPDF. This method can be useful if you need to bypass the forgotten PDF password altogether by recreating the entire document.

Open UPDF and navigate to “File” then “Create PDF”, choose the options you’d like for the blank page and this will open a new document. Using the various tools in UPDF you can add text, images, or any other elements you’d like.

Using UPDF, you can easily create a new PDF without any password-related problems. This solution provides a fresh start and allows you to customize your document without fear of forgetting your PDF password.

Final Words

In summary, dealing with the “I’ve forgot a PDF password” problem can be frustrating, but there are multiple solutions to resolve the issue. From trying common passwords to asking for help, or removing the password using Ajoysoft, you have many options available, and if all else fails, creating a new PDF is a viable option using UPDF.

UPDF offers a streamlined working experience when creating PDFs, has many additional features available, and is very budget-friendly. If you’re in need of a reliable PDF management application, you can download UPDF via the below button, then, purchase UPDF today and get Ajoysoft for free!