99%
OCR accuracy
PDF OCR - Extract Text from Scanned PDFs
Upload any scanned or image-based PDF to generate searchable PDFs and editable text documents. Text layers are embedded with precise bounding box coordinates while preserving original layout.
Scans & photos supported
Column & table extraction
Editable text output
PDF OCR workflow
Multi-layout
Workflow quality controls
GDPR
Secure private processing
Definition
What is PDF OCR?
Upload any scanned or image-based PDF to generate searchable PDFs and editable text documents. Text layers are embedded with precise bounding box coordinates while preserving original layout.
OCR extraction preview
PDF OCR extraction preview
Extract clean, selectable text from scans, images and receipts with table structure and formatting preserved.
Scan / Image
SCAN
Scanned brochure or sheet
Extracted Text
DOCX
Product Specification Sheet
Dimensions, features, and technical specifications.
Structured editable text
PDF OCR features
99% Accuracy on Clean Scans
State-of-the-art AI OCR engine trained on diverse document types - from historic archives to modern business documents.
Table & Layout Preserved
Multi-column layouts, tables, headers, and footers are detected and reproduced accurately in the output document.
Searchable PDF Output
Receive a searchable PDF with an invisible OCR text layer - original appearance unchanged, fully searchable and copy-pasteable.
DOCX Export
Get a fully editable Word document from your scanned PDF - with formatting, columns, and tables preserved.
14+ Languages
Supports Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic (RTL), CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean), Hebrew, Greek, Devanagari, and more.
Secure & Private
Files are encrypted in transit and at rest.
Why Choose Our PDF OCR Service?
Scanned and image-based PDFs store text as raster pixel arrays rather than searchable character streams. ForgeFile's PDF OCR engine parses the PDF page tree, extracts embedded bitmap images (including CCITT Fax, JBIG2, and FlateDecode streams), and performs optical character recognition aligned with ISO 32000 specifications.
The resulting document embeds an invisible, selectable OCR text layer directly behind the original scan images, enabling Ctrl+F full-text searching, text selection, and copy-pasting while keeping the visual layout completely unchanged.
PDF Architecture Handled by OCR
- Pure raster PDF scans - PDF containers enclosing scanned document images without an existing text stream.
- Mixed vector and raster pages - Documents with selectable digital text on some pages and image scans on others.
- Multi-page document trees - Sequential recognition across multi-page document catalogs, preserving page order and bookmarks.
- Rotated and skewed pages - Automatic page orientation and deskew detection before character segmentation.
Searchable PDF & Document Deliverables
- Invisible text overlay - Generates searchable PDF files with glyph bounding boxes aligned to underlying scan coordinates.
- Editable Word DOCX - Reconstructs paragraph flow, tables, and typography into native editable Microsoft Word format.
- Structured table retention - Identifies tabular cell boundaries for financial statements and reports.
- The maximum file size depends on your plan.
- Encrypted processing - Files are encrypted in transit and at rest.
The PDF 2.0 file format specification is documented by the Library of Congress digital format sustainability project.
How PDF OCR Works - 4 Simple Steps
- 1
Upload your scanned PDF
Upload any scanned or image-based PDF. Multi-page documents of any length are supported. The maximum file size depends on your plan.
- 2
Select output format
Choose your target output: searchable PDF (text layer added), editable DOCX, or plain TXT. Select the document language for best accuracy.
- 3
OCR processes
The AI engine deskews pages, detects layout, recognizes text in 14+ languages, and extracts tables and structured content.
- 4
Download result
Download your searchable PDF or editable DOCX - ready for search, editing, translation, or archiving.
Technical specifications
PDF OCR technical specifications
| Service Category | OCR Text Extraction |
|---|---|
| Target Format / Capability | PDF OCR |
| Structure & Layout | Editable text from scans and images |
| Maximum File Size | The maximum file size depends on your plan. |
| Security | Files are encrypted in transit and at rest. |
| Supported Languages / Locales | Multilingual global support |
| Export & Delivery Formats | DOCX, TXT, PDF, JSON |
Frequently Asked Questions - PDF OCR
What types of PDFs work with PDF OCR?
Scanned PDFs, image-based PDFs, and mixed PDFs (combining selectable and scanned pages) are all supported. Native text-selectable PDFs are passed through without OCR and returned as-is.
What output formats are available?
Searchable PDF (original appearance with invisible text layer), editable DOCX (Word-compatible with formatting preserved), and plain TXT.
How accurate is PDF OCR?
Scan resolution (300 DPI recommended), skew angle, and contrast directly affect recognition accuracy. Faded text or severe compression artifacts may require manual verification.
Can it extract data from tables in scanned PDFs?
Yes. Table detection identifies rows, columns, and cell boundaries. Tables are reproduced in the output DOCX as editable Word tables, or exported to CSV on request.
What languages are supported?
14+ languages: all Latin-script European languages, Cyrillic (Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian), Arabic and Farsi (RTL), Hebrew, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Greek, Thai, Hindi (Devanagari), and more.
Is my PDF kept private?
Files are encrypted in transit and at rest. How long they are kept depends on your plan.
Ready to Extract Text from Your PDF?
Try ForgeFile's PDF OCR free - no credit card required. Upload a scanned PDF to generate searchable PDF and editable text files.