OCR PDF
Make scanned PDFs searchable. Runs Tesseract OCR fully in your browser.
Drop your PDF here, or click to browse
PDF up to ~100 MB · stays on your device
Updated 2026 · Maintained by the CrispPDF team
Scanned PDFs are just pictures of text—you can't search, copy, or edit. CrispPDF's OCR tool converts those images into fully searchable, selectable text layers.
Upload the scan, choose the language (English, Hindi, and 100+ others), and click Process. The output PDF looks identical but now contains real text underneath—perfect for Ctrl+F searches, copying quotes, or feeding content to AI tools.
For Indian users scanning old certificates or Hindi-language documents, multilingual OCR handles Devanagari and English in the same pass. For legal and medical offices digitizing paper records, searchable PDFs transform retrieval from hours to seconds.
Because OCR runs in your browser (via Tesseract.js), confidential scans never leave your device. After processing, convert to Word for editing or extract plain text for analysis.
// How to use
How to use OCR PDF
- 1
Upload the scanned PDF
Drop an image-only PDF — the kind you can't select text from.
- 2
Pick languages
Choose one or more languages (Tesseract supports 100+, including Hindi, English, Spanish, and Chinese).
- 3
Run OCR
Click Recognise. Text is detected page by page inside your browser — no upload.
- 4
Download the searchable PDF
Save the new PDF with a transparent text layer — fully searchable, copyable, and translation-ready.
// Why CrispPDF
Why use CrispPDF for ocr pdf?
CrispPDF runs entirely in your browser — your files never touch a server. No signup, no watermarks, no daily limits, no upsells. We built it because every other PDF site is slow, ad-stuffed, or hides the good features behind a paywall. CrispPDF is fast on a phone, fast on a laptop, fast on a 10-year-old machine. Output is byte-clean: signatures stay sharp, compressed PDFs stay readable, conversions preserve layout where the source allows. And because nothing leaves your device, even confidential documents are safe to process. Bookmark this page, share it with your team, and stop juggling five different PDF sites for five different tasks.
- No signup, no email gate
- No watermarks on output
- Files never stored on a server
- Works on phone, tablet, and desktop
// FAQ
OCR PDF — frequently asked questions
+How to copy text from a scanned PDF?
Run OCR first to create a text layer, then select and copy like a normal PDF.
+Can OCR recognize Hindi text?
Yes. CrispPDF's OCR supports 100+ languages including Hindi (Devanagari).
+How to make an image PDF searchable?
Upload it to the OCR tool, process, and download a searchable version.
+How do I OCR a PDF for free?
Drop it into CrispPDF, select your language(s), and click Process. Completely free.
+Can I extract text from a scanned document?
Yes. OCR converts image text into real, copyable text.
+Will OCR maintain the original formatting?
The visual layout stays the same; the new text layer sits invisibly behind the image.
+Can I run OCR on a scanned Aadhaar, PAN, or ID card?
Yes. Scanned ID documents OCR well when the scan is straight and at least 300 DPI. Because OCR runs in your browser with Tesseract.js, the ID never reaches a server — important for documents carrying an identity number.
+Why does my scanned ID come out with wrong digits?
Low-resolution phone photos and glare are the usual cause. Rescan flat under even light at 300 DPI or higher, and crop to the card before running OCR. For Aadhaar, verify the digits by eye — never trust OCR output for a number you are about to submit.
+Should I mask the number before sharing an OCR-scanned ID?
Yes, where the full number is not legally required. Use Redact PDF to remove the first eight digits of an Aadhaar number before sharing the copy.