Your own PDF — a contract you authored — has copy restrictions on. You can't select the text. The password is in an email from two years ago that you can't find.
If the PDF is yours or you have the right to access the content, you have a few ways through.
First, check whether you can
Restrictions on PDFs are sometimes there for a reason. If the document isn't yours and you don't have permission to extract text, don't.
For your own documents — contracts you signed, reports you authored — restrictions you set are usually fine to remove if you have the password.
Unlock with the password
If you know the password, unlock the PDF. Once unlocked, text is selectable, copyable, and editable.
Flint's unlock tool processes locally — the password never leaves your machine. Useful if the password is sensitive.
If you don't have the password
If you genuinely have the right to access the content but don't have the password, options narrow. Sometimes the original sender can resend without restrictions.
As a last resort, OCR the document — even if text is restricted, OCR works on the visible content and extracts a text layer. Re-saves as an unrestricted PDF.
FAQ
Is removing PDF restrictions legal?
Depends on the document and your rights. For your own files, yes. For third-party documents you don't have permission for, no — same as any copyright restriction.
Will OCR get around copy protection?
It works on the visible page content, regardless of the document's text-copy restrictions. It produces a separate text layer.
Can I extract text from a password-protected PDF?
Only after unlocking it with the password. Without the password, the content stays inaccessible.
What about edit restrictions vs copy restrictions?
They're separate flags. A PDF can allow copying but block editing, or vice versa. Both are removed when you unlock with the owner password.
For your own PDFs, copy restrictions are removable in seconds. Unlock the PDF and the text becomes usable again.