Make Scanned PDFs Searchable
Run OCR on scans, photos, and image-only PDFs. Successfully processed pages return as visual renderings with a selectable text layer, plus the extracted text.
This tool uploads the scan over TLS and runs OCR as a background server job. Sign in before selecting a file; retained results expire on your plan’s schedule.
OCR runs on secure servers.
Text recognition uploads over TLS and runs as a background server job. Workspace access to server-processed inputs and outputs expires after 7 days on free accounts and no later than 30 days on paid plans. Download URLs expire no later than that access boundary. Expired objects are queued for automatic cleanup, and deletion is retried if storage removal fails. A free account includes 20 OCR pages per month. No card is required.
Need more? A 1-day pass starts at $3, with no subscription. See plans
scanned PDF to searchable PDF, step by step.
These steps describe the scanned PDF input and the searchable PDF export for this exact route.
Upload Scans
Drag in scanned PDFs or photos (PNG, JPG, WebP, TIFF).
Pick the Language
Choose the document's language so the engine reads it accurately.
Download Results
Get a searchable PDF and a plain-text file, plus the text right in your browser.
What to expect
What matters for searchable PDF output.
Review the behavior this scanned PDF to searchable PDF tool is designed to preserve, expose, or simplify.
Searchable PDF Output
Each successfully processed page is raster-rendered and rebuilt with a selectable text layer. Appearance is intended to stay close to the source; review the output for render differences or skipped pages.
14 Languages
English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, and more — selecting the matching language can improve recognition.
Honest Results
When the OCR pipeline detects a fidelity issue, the result shows a warning so you know the output needs review.
Questions about scanned PDF and searchable PDF.
Check the format behavior, limitations, and follow-up options before processing a real file.
FileMorf raster-renders each successfully processed source page and adds a selectable text layer so it can be searched, copied, and indexed. Appearance is intended to stay close to the source, but rendering can differ and failed pages can be omitted, so review the result.
Related routes
Continue from searchable PDF.
Choose another format only when it matches the next job.
Next step
Ready to process another scanned PDF file?
Start here again, or compare plans when the job needs server capacity, retention, or repeat automation.