# Make a scanned PDF searchable (OCR) (OCR PDF)

> Turn a scan or phone photo into a PDF you can search, copy text from and edit.

Canonical page: https://bettrpdf.com/tools/ocr-pdf  
This file: https://bettrpdf.com/tools/ocr-pdf.md  
Site index for agents: https://bettrpdf.com/llms.txt

Tier: Free. Accepts: application/pdf.

Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

## FAQ

**Is my file uploaded?**

Yes, this one needs a server. The file is converted in a temporary folder that is deleted as soon as the PDF is returned. Nothing is kept.

**Will the scan look different?**

No. The page images stay exactly as they are; an invisible layer of recognised text is added on top, so you can search, select and copy it.

**How accurate is it?**

Clean printed text reads very well. Handwriting, faint copies and unusual fonts are misread more often, so check anything important. Up to 20 pages per file.

**Is it free?**

Yes, no account needed, up to 20 MB per file.

## Related tools

- [Compress PDF](https://bettrpdf.com/tools/compress-pdf.md)
- [PDF to Word](https://bettrpdf.com/tools/pdf-to-word.md)
- [Merge PDF](https://bettrpdf.com/tools/merge-pdf.md)