Repair a damaged PDF for free

How it works

1. 1

   Upload the damaged PDF.

2. 2

   Optionally change the output file name.

3. 3

   Start the repair and wait for the server to rebuild the file.

4. 4

   Download the repaired PDF and open it to check the pages.

About the Repair PDF

A PDF can become damaged when a download is cut short, an email attachment is mangled, or a program crashes while saving. Readers then refuse to open it or show blank pages. This tool sends the file to our server, where the open-source qpdf engine rebuilds the internal structure that tells a viewer where each page and object lives, then hands you a cleaned-up copy.

What you can do

• Rebuild a broken cross-reference table, the index a PDF uses to find its pages.
• Recover files that qpdf can read with warnings, such as ones with bad offsets or a missing end marker.
• Rename the output before downloading.
• Get the repaired copy as a normal PDF that you can open, print or pass to any other tool on this site.

When it works best

• A PDF that says it is damaged or could not be opened in one viewer but loads partly in another.
• Files exported by older or unusual software that other PDF tools refuse to read.
• Preparing a misbehaving file before merging, splitting or compressing it here.
• Rescuing an important attachment that a sender can no longer send again.

Things to know

• Repair restores structure, not lost data. If part of the file was never downloaded, those pages cannot be brought back, and badly damaged files are rejected with a clear message.
• Files up to 25 MB are accepted, and the file must still start with a valid PDF header.
• The repaired copy is stored on the server only to serve your download and is deleted automatically within about 30 minutes.
• A password-protected PDF is not a damaged one; use Unlock PDF if you know the password.
• If a repaired file still shows missing or blank pages, the data for those pages was lost before upload and cannot be recreated.

Frequently asked questions