How do I make a PDF searchable online?

Open the tool above and drop in your scanned PDF or image. Choose your OCR language and click Make Searchable. The tool runs Tesseract.js locally in your browser, recognizes the text on every page, and bakes an invisible searchable layer into the PDF you download. No upload, no account, no file limits.

Is making a scanned PDF searchable free?

Yes, 100% free forever. There are no accounts, no watermarks, no page caps, and no fees. All OCR processing runs client-side via WebAssembly on your own device, so making a PDF searchable online costs nothing and never uploads your document.

Why can’t I search or select text in my PDF?

A scanned PDF is just a picture of your page. It looks like text but it’s really an image, so your PDF viewer can’t select, copy, or search it. Making the PDF searchable runs OCR to recognize the characters and stores them as an invisible text layer under the image, restoring copy, selection, and Ctrl+F search.

Is my document safe to process?

Completely. This is a browser-only tool — your file is read into memory and processed locally with WebAssembly. It never travels to a server, is never stored, and is gone when you close the tab. Scans, contracts, and personal records stay on your device.

Will the searchable PDF look different from my scan?

No. The invisible text layer sits beneath the original page image, which is preserved exactly. The document looks pixel-identical to your scan, but now supports text selection, copying, and keyword search.

Can I make a PDF/A-archival searchable file?

Yes. The tool offers PDF/A-1b, -2b, -3b, and -4 archival metadata. Because certification is strict and done client-side, we add the compliance metadata as a best-effort step and recommend verifying the final file in Adobe Acrobat Pro or veraPDF before relying on it for certified long-term archives.

Which file types and languages are supported?

You can process scanned PDFs as well as PNG, JPEG, and WEBP images. OCR supports 38+ languages — English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Korean, and more.

Does it work on multipage books and large files?

Yes. There are no page or size limits. The tool processes full multipage documents page by page, baking a searchable layer onto every page. The only practical ceiling is your browser’s available memory.

Make PDF Searchable Online — Free OCR Text Layer, No Uploads

Text-layer OCR

Make any PDF or image searchable.

Drag in a scanned PDF or an image. Choose your OCR language. We recognize the text and bake an invisible, searchable layer onto every page.

Make PDF Searchable

100% Browser · No Uploads

Click to upload or drag and drop

Supports scanned PDF, PNG, JPEG, or WEBP (Max: 100 MB)

How it Works

Four steps to a searchable document.

Nothing leaves your device. The whole pipeline runs locally in WebAssembly threads.

01

Drop your file

Upload a scanned PDF, PNG, JPG, or WEBP. No size limits — even full multipage books work.

02

OCR runs locally

Tesseract.js recognizes characters on every page, in your browser, with optional scan cleanup.

03

Text layer is baked in

An invisible, searchable text layer is added under each page's image — the look never changes.

04

Search & copy

Download the searchable PDF. Select text, copy it, or hit Ctrl‑F to find keywords instantly.

Archival Options

Searchable PDF vs PDF/A.

Choose the output that matches your needs. Standard PDF is fastest; PDF/A adds archival metadata for long-term records.

Feature	Standard Searchable PDF	PDF/A (1b / 2b / 3b / 4)
Purpose	Everyday search, copy, edits	Long-term archival & compliance
Searchable text layer	Invisible OCR layer baked in	Same invisible OCR layer
Archival metadata	Basic document metadata	XMP PDF/A compliance declared
Speed	Fastest	Slightly larger, same speed
Certification	Not applicable	Metadata best-effort — verify in Acrobat / veraPDF

Even with PDF/A selected, we recommend validating the final file in Adobe Acrobat Pro or veraPDF before relying on it for certified archival.

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Guide

How to make a scanned PDF searchable

A scanned PDF is a picture, not text. Your PDF viewer can display it perfectly, but if you try to select a word, copy a paragraph, or search the document, you get nothing. Making a PDF searchable solves this by running OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and storing a searchable text layer alongside the original page image.

Why searchable PDFs matter

Searchable PDFs let you retrieve information fast. Instead of scanning page after page by eye, you press Ctrl‑F, type a keyword, and jump straight to the result. You can also copy text into notes, documents, or emails, and screen readers can read searchable documents aloud — a major accessibility win.

How the OCR text layer works

This tool renders each page, recognizes the characters with Tesseract.js running in-browser WebAssembly, and writes the recognized words as an invisible text layer in the output PDF. The visible page stays pixel-identical, while the hidden layer carries the searchable text and its coordinate position on the page. That's what makes selecting and searching feel natural.

Get the best results

Use a clear scan. Higher resolution and even lighting give OCR more to work with.
Pick the correct language. Matching the OCR language to the document's language measurably improves accuracy.
Enable scan cleanup for noisy, low-contrast scans — the auto-threshold step boosts the text against the background.
Choose PDF/A only for archival needs, and verify the result with Acrobat or veraPDF.

Ready to make your PDF searchable?

It's free, it's private, and it works entirely in your browser. No uploads, no accounts, no file limits.

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Make PDF Searchable Online — Free & Private.