Password Protect a PDF Online Free (Lock Your PDF)

Contracts, payslips, ID copies, medical papers: some PDFs should not be opened by just anyone. Before you email or upload one, you can add a password. The PDFFlowState Protect PDF tool lets you password protect a PDF in your browser, for free, with no account.

Open the Protect PDF tool

What does Protect PDF do?

Protect PDF adds a password to your PDF and lets you set permissions. People search for it as protect PDF, lock PDF or PDF password. The idea is the same: only people who have the password can open the file.

How to password protect a PDF

1. Open the tool. Go to Protect PDF. It works on phone and desktop.
2. Add your PDF. Choose the file you want to lock.
3. Set a password and permissions. Pick a password you will remember, and choose the permissions you want.
4. Protect and download. Save the locked PDF and share it.

No sign-up is needed, so it is a free way to lock a PDF.

Tips for a good PDF password

• Make it strong. Use a long mix of letters, numbers and symbols. Password Generator can create one for you.
• Share the password separately. Send it by a different channel than the PDF.
• Keep an unprotected copy somewhere safe, and write the password down securely. A forgotten password can be hard to recover.

Related tools

• Mark a document "Confidential" with PDF Watermark.
• Make the file smaller before sending with Compress PDF.
• Combine files first with Merge PDF, then protect the result.

Frequently asked questions

Is Protect PDF free? Yes. It is free and needs no sign-up.

Can I remove a password from a PDF? There is no unlock tool at the moment. Protect PDF adds passwords.

What happens if I forget the password? Keep a record of it. If you also keep an unprotected original, you can protect it again with a new password.

Can I protect a Word document as a PDF? Yes. Convert it with Word to PDF, then lock it here.

Protect your PDF now

Try the free Protect PDF tool or browse all the PDF tools on PDFFlowState.