“Locked for editing” means one of three things on a Mac. The file itself can be locked in the Finder, which stops every app from saving over it and has nothing to do with the PDF inside. The PDF can have a permissions password: it opens and reads normally, but whoever made it told viewers to block changes, and often printing or copying too. Or it can have an open password, and then it asks for that password before you see any page. A Finder lock comes off with one checkbox. For either password, the key is the password or the person who set it: if you made the file, you can remove the protection with your password; if someone sent it to you, ask them for an unlocked copy. There is no legitimate way around a password you do not have, and this page does not describe one.
Is the file itself locked on your Mac?
Check this first, because it is the quickest to fix. macOS can lock any file, and Apple’s Preview guide explains what that does: “You can lock a PDF or image so that it can’t be edited or deleted.” A locked file opens normally, and apps refuse to save over it. Apple adds: “If you own a locked document, you can edit the document after unlocking it.” And for everyone else: “Others can change the document’s contents only by creating a duplicate of the document and editing the duplicate.”
There are two places to unlock it:
- In Preview: “Move the pointer next to the document’s name in the title bar, click the down arrow, then select or deselect the Locked checkbox.”
- In the Finder: “To lock or unlock a file in the Finder, select the file, choose File > Get Info, then select or deselect the Locked checkbox.”
If the Locked checkbox was not selected, the lock you are dealing with is inside the PDF: one of the two passwords below.
What are the two passwords on a PDF?
The PDF standard defines both: its security handler allows “access permissions and up to two passwords to be specified for a document: an owner password and a user password.” Apps give them friendlier names. Adobe’s help describes them this way: “Document Open Password: Requires you to enter a password to open and view the PDF, restricting access to its contents.” And: “Permissions Password: Allows you to restrict certain features in the PDF, such as printing, editing, copying content, and adding comments.”
What does each password restrict?
Setting either password encrypts the file; the open password is the one you must type to read it.
The open password (the standard’s user password) is asked for before the first page shows. Without it there is nothing to read, edit or print. With it, you get whatever the permissions allow.
The permissions password (the owner password) leaves the file readable by anyone and switches individual actions on or off. The standard lists them: modifying the document’s contents; copying or extracting text and graphics; adding or changing comments and form fields; and printing. Newer files can control these more finely, for example allowing form filling while forbidding other changes. The standard is clear about who holds the key: “Opening the document with the correct owner password should allow full (owner) access to the document.”
That is why a PDF can open without any prompt and still be locked for editing.
How do Mac apps show that a PDF is locked?
An open password shows as a prompt before the first page. A permissions password is quieter: menus for editing are disabled, or an edit is refused. To see exactly what a file allows on a Mac, open it in Preview and look at the Encryption inspector, which Apple’s guide describes as the place to “View encryption and permission information for a password-protected PDF.” In Terminal, pdfinfo file.pdf prints an “Encrypted” line: “no” for a file without either password, or “yes” followed by what the permissions allow.
PDF Textfix says it in a banner above the pages. A file with an open password asks for it before its pages show. A file whose permissions forbid changes opens view only: “This file’s permissions do not allow changes, so PDF Textfix can show it but not edit it.” Any other encrypted file opens view only too, even when its permissions allow changes: “This file is encrypted, so PDF Textfix can show it but not edit it.” You can read the pages, but the lines stay locked. PDF Textfix edits only files with no encryption at all, and it does not remove passwords or permissions; the manual lists every reason a line or a file is locked.
I set the password: how do I take it off?
Use the app that set it, with your password, and know which result you need. Allowing changes in the permissions lifts the restriction for apps that follow the permissions, but the file stays encrypted, so an app that edits only unencrypted files, such as PDF Textfix, still opens it view only. For that, remove the passwords completely.
In Acrobat, remove both passwords. Adobe’s page on removing passwords is written “to allow access for all users”. Its steps go through All tools > Protect a PDF, Set security properties, the Security tab and Change Settings. There, “To remove the document open password, deselect Require a password to open the document.” And “To remove the permissions password, deselect Restrict editing and printing of the document.” Adobe adds: “Type the permission password if prompted.” Then save the file. Check the result with pdfinfo: the Encrypted line should read “no”.
From the source document, export again. If you still have the Word, Pages or InDesign file the PDF came from, export a new PDF without a password. That gives a clean, unencrypted copy.
In Preview, change what the file allows. Choose File > Edit Permissions. Apple’s guide says: “After setting an owner password for a PDF, you can change password-protection options or create a new password.” Select the actions you want to allow (“Set permissions: Select the checkbox next to an action to allow printing or changes without the owner password.”), then click Apply. The change takes effect the next time the file is opened. The owner password stays in place, so the file is still encrypted; Apple’s guide gives no step that removes it.
Keep the unlocked copy for yourself and send the locked one only where a lock helps.
Someone sent me a locked PDF: what can I do?
Ask. The lock is the sender’s decision, and the sender can lift it in a minute: ask for an unlocked copy, for the editable source file, or simply for the correction you need. If the file allows form filling, you can fill in its fields without unlocking anything; why you can’t edit the text in a PDF shows how to tell a form field from page text.
Is a signed or certified PDF locked in the same way?
It can look the same, but the mechanism is different. Adobe’s help on signing says: “Signing a PDF with a digital ID or certificate locks it and prevents further changes.” There is no password involved: a signature seals the file’s bytes, and a certified PDF also states which changes its author allows. How to edit a signed PDF explains what an edit does to the signature and when to ask for a new signed copy instead.
Where does this site draw the line?
At the password. A permissions password is how the owner of a document says what others may do with it, so this site explains how the lock works and how its owner removes it, and nothing about getting around it. Tools that promise to unlock any PDF are outside what we write about.
Questions
How do I unlock a PDF for editing?
First find which lock it is. A Finder lock: clear the Locked checkbox in Get Info or in Preview’s title bar. A permissions or open password: remove it with the password in the app that set it, or ask the person who sent the file.
Why does my PDF say it is secured when it opened without a password?
It has a permissions password but no open password. Anyone can read it, but the owner has turned off some actions, such as editing.
Can I unlock a PDF without the password?
This site does not explain how. Ask the owner for the password or an unlocked copy.
I allowed changes in the permissions. Why is the file still view only?
Because it is still encrypted. Some apps, PDF Textfix among them, open any encrypted file view only. Remove both passwords, or export a new copy from the source document.
Can I still print or copy text from a locked PDF?
It depends on the permissions the owner set. Preview’s Encryption inspector lists them for the file you have open.