Password protect a PDF

Lock a PDF with a real password. Everything happens on your device.

AES-256 encryption

Drop a PDF here, or click to choose one

Set a password once your file loads.

How to password protect a PDF

1
Add your file
Drop a PDF into the box, or click to browse and select one from your device.
2
Set a password
Type a password and confirm it. This is what anyone will need to open the file.
3
Choose restrictions, if you want any
Open Advanced to prevent printing, copying, or editing once the file is opened.
4
Protect and download
Click Protect PDF and download the result. Nothing was ever sent to a server.

What each restriction does

Prevent printing

Standard PDF viewers will not offer a working print option once the file is open.

Prevent copying

Blocks selecting and copying text or extracting images through standard tools.

Prevent editing

Stops standard tools from modifying the page content once it's open.

How this works

Every tool on this site runs entirely inside your browser, no files are ever sent to a server. Your password never leaves your device, and the encrypted PDF is built locally too. You can confirm this yourself by opening your browser's developer tools and watching the network tab while you protect a file.

Password protection and permissions are different

An open password uses AES-256 encryption to control who can read the file. Printing, copying, and editing settings are PDF permissions applied after it opens. Most standard viewers honor them, but they are not a substitute for encryption and some software may ignore them. Use a unique, long password, store it somewhere safe, and send it through a different channel from the PDF. LocalPDFLab cannot recover it later. Finish editing the document before protecting it. If you need to make changes afterward, use Remove PDF password with the password you set, edit the unlocked copy, and protect the final version again.

Frequently asked questions

Is this real encryption, or just a view lock?

Real encryption, AES-256, the same standard used across the industry for protecting PDFs. Without the password, the file's contents genuinely cannot be read, this isn't a cosmetic restriction layered on top of an otherwise open file.

What's the difference between my password and the restrictions?

Your password controls whether someone can open the file at all. The restrictions, printing, copying, and editing, control what they can do once it's open. Under the hood a PDF actually supports two separate passwords for this, but when you're not restricting anything, there's nothing extra to manage, one password does the job.

Can I restrict what people can do after they open it?

Open Advanced to set PDF permissions for printing, copying text or images, and editing. Standard viewers usually honor these settings, but some software may ignore them. When any restriction is enabled, the file uses a second, hidden owner password so the opening password does not also grant permission changes. You never need to manage that second password yourself.

Why isn't there an option to restrict accessibility or screen readers?

Because the current PDF standard doesn't actually allow it, tools that offer that checkbox are showing a control that does nothing. Rather than include a setting that would quietly fail to work, it isn't offered here at all.

What if my PDF is already password protected?

It needs to be unlocked first. This tool adds protection to a file, it doesn't have the existing password needed to open an already-protected one first.

Can I remove this protection later if I need to?

Yes, with the password you set here. Any tool built to remove PDF passwords will work, as long as it's given the password you chose, even if restrictions were also applied.

Next steps

Choose another private, browser-based tool for the next step in your document workflow.