Scanned PDF to Word
Convert a scanned PDF to Word. Upload a scan of printed English pages, review the recognised words, and download them as an editable .docx file.
What we accept
LIMITS PER FORMAT
1 FORMAT
Max size
20 MB
Pages
up to 20 per job
Files per job
1
Is this PDF really a scan?
Drag across a line in your PDF viewer. A page that behaves like a picture most likely needs OCR.
Words that will not select
Scanners and phone scanning apps frequently save every page as a picture. Send that file here and its printed English is recognised.
A mix of scanned and text pages
Pages with real text are read directly where possible, and image-only pages go through OCR. For PDFs that are all selectable text, PDF to Word is the closer fit.
Faint or tilted scans
Straighten and rescan if you can. Keep the whole page in view, avoid shadows and make sure small letters are legible before you upload.
What affects how a scan reads
The Word file is only as clean as the pages it came from.
Resolution
About 300 dpi is plenty for printed pages. A low-resolution scan blurs small type, and rescanning helps more than anything else.
Skew and shadows
A tilted page, or the dark band beside a book's spine, makes lines harder to follow. Flatten the page and rescan if you can.
Stamps and margin notes
Round stamps, signatures and scribbles in the margin can come out as stray characters, so delete anything odd you find in the Word file.
Long scans
Up to 20 pages go in one conversion, each opening a new Word page. Split a longer scan and convert it in parts.
Why people use this tool
For PDFs that look readable but give you no text to edit.
Scans become text
OCR recognises printed words on scanned pages and places them in a Word file, so you can edit without retyping the whole document.
Proofread what comes out
Compare names, dates and numbers with the scan. Faint print, stamps and folds in the paper can cause recognition errors.
One page per PDF page
Each page of your PDF opens a new page in the Word file, in the original order, for up to 20 pages per conversion.
Reads photos and scanned pages
Clear printed English gives the reader more to work with. Blur, shadows and tilted pages can cause missed or misread text.
Text grouped by page
Pages stay in order. Within a page, columns, lists and headings may need checking before you reuse the text.
Review before you download
Read the extracted text in the result panel, then copy it or download a TXT file. Compare it with your source when accuracy matters.
How to turn a scanned PDF into Word
Four steps, all of them in the browser. Nothing to install and no account — then convert to Word.
Choose your scanned PDF
Upload one PDF of up to 20 MB and 20 pages. Cut a longer document into parts first.
Start the conversion
Processing time depends on page count, scan quality and how busy the server is.
Review the recognised words
Compare the result with your scan, especially names, numbers and anything arranged in columns.
Download the Word file
Press Download .docx inside the hour, or use the arrow beside it for TXT or a searchable PDF.
What the Word file contains
The words OCR found on each scanned page, grouped into paragraphs. Review them against your scan.
In the Word file
What you can expect to open in Word.
A Word page per scanned page
Pages stay in the order of the PDF.
What OCR could read
Check names, numbers and gaps against your scan, especially on faint or tilted pages.
Page warnings
A warning for a page, if any, appears with the result so you know where to look.
Check before use
Things the Word file does not carry over.
Stamps, signatures and notes
Marks that are not printed text may be misread or skipped. The scan itself is not carried into the Word file.
Ledgers and ruled forms
Rows come out as plain lines and columns merge into one flow.
About the Word file
The file stores the words found on each scanned page, not the page image.
Scans are read with OCR, so proofread names, numbers and small print before you rely on the text.
Scanned PDF to Word questions
Answers to common questions about Scanned PDF to Word.
Can a scanned PDF become an editable Word document?
Yes, for printed English. OCR reads the words on each scanned page and the Word file holds them as paragraphs you can edit. Compare the result with the scan, because recognition can slip.
How big can the scanned PDF be?
A scan can run to 20 MB and 20 pages in one go. Cut a longer scan into sections first, and unlock any password-protected file.
Will the Word file keep my layout?
No. The words come back as paragraphs. Page design and pictures are not rebuilt, each PDF page starts a new Word page, and subheadings are often missed.
Will tables and columns survive?
Tables are not rebuilt, so rows come out as lines. Pages set in columns are read as one long flow that you will need to rearrange.
What if some pages already have real text?
Pages that already hold real text are read directly where possible, and one PDF can mix both kinds. If every page is selectable text, PDF to Word is the closer fit.
Does it work on handwriting or other languages?
Printed English is what this page handles. Handwriting and scans in other languages are outside its scope for now.
How long is my scan kept?
Results are removed an hour after conversion and uploads an hour after their last conversion. Cleanup runs every minute, though an outage can delay it. See Privacy for the technical metadata that is kept longer.
Other tools in the set
Same reader, same price, same hour-long retention. Pick the one that matches what you need out the other end.