OCR PDF
Make scanned PDFs searchable with text recognition
OCR PDF — Make Scanned PDFs Searchable Free Online
DocTools.CC is a free online OCR PDF tool that adds a searchable text layer to scanned documents. After OCR processing, you can search, select, and copy text from your scanned PDF — just like a normal document. No registration, no watermarks, and no page limits.
What Is OCR?
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is technology that recognizes text inside images. Scanned PDFs are essentially photographs of paper — the text exists visually but cannot be searched or copied. OCR adds an invisible text layer on top of the scan, making it fully searchable while keeping the original appearance intact.
When You Need OCR
- Scanned contracts and agreements you need to search through
- Printed documents you want to convert to editable text
- Old paper records digitized with a scanner
- Photos of documents taken with a phone
How to Use
- Upload your scanned PDF file (up to 100MB)
- Click Process — OCR runs automatically
- Download your searchable PDF
Key Features
- 100% free with no daily limits and no watermarks
- No registration or account needed
- Supports 100+ languages with auto-detection
- Keeps original appearance, adds invisible text layer
- Files automatically deleted after 30 minutes
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about this tool
Upload your scanned PDF above and click Process. Our OCR engine will recognize the text in each scanned page and add an invisible text layer on top, making the document fully searchable and selectable. Download the result — no account needed.
Yes — completely free with no daily limits, no watermarks, and no registration. Unlike paid OCR services that charge per page, DocTools.CC processes entire documents at zero cost.
Our OCR engine supports over 100 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Russian. The language is auto-detected, so you don't need to select it manually.
Yes. OCR works on any image-based PDF, whether it was scanned from paper, photographed with a phone, or created from a screenshot. For best results, use a clear, well-lit image with minimal skew.
OCR adds an invisible text layer on top of the scanned image, so the PDF looks the same but becomes searchable and selectable. Extracting text (PDF to TXT) removes the images entirely and gives you plain text only. Use OCR when you want to keep the visual appearance but make it searchable.