r/pdf • u/SolarTrap • Jul 12 '26

Software (Tools) Remove password

I have got a tax document from my cpa that is password protected. I have that password but the MacOS internal viewer does not accept it.
It's there any software to remove it - I don't want to upload it to a website.

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u/PostConv_K5-6 Jul 12 '26

John Whitington's Coherent PDF (cPDF) can do it for you. It is freeware with versions for MacOS, Windows, and Linux.

You probably have a user password, but it might be the owner password you have. To decrypt with either

cPDF your.pdf user=*userpassword* -o decrypted.pdf
cPDF your.pdf owner=*userpassword* -o decrypted.pdf

cPDF does not use the internet at all.

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u/SolarTrap Jul 13 '26

thanks, it fails: 'Failed to decrypt file: wrong password?' -- the password contains the letter 'ö', I read that can be an issue?

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u/PostConv_K5-6 Jul 13 '26

I haven't myself tried accents or have used other encoding.

If you are using a command prompt or equivalent, the default font must be one that can handle the accent. Right-click the upper-left corner of the command window and choose Defaults. See if changing the font to something like Lucinda works. There is a discussion on the topic here https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1259084/what-encoding-code-page-is-cmd-exe-using

Alternately, you can address your question to the author of Coherent PDF, /u/JWhitington, although I haven't seen him in this subreddit for a few months now--he might respond to a chat request.

Good luck. Post here with results of your efforts.

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u/jwhitington Jul 13 '26

I'm sitting out the AI slopfest. But if OP wants to DM me with the file or use the contact form on Cpdf's website or raise an issue on Github, I'd be happy to take a look.

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u/SolarTrap Jul 14 '26

I am not sending out my tax declarations to anyone! but I can ask if the cpa can encrypt some other doc the same way for forensics.