How to remove the password from a bank statement PDF
Open Remove a password, add the statement, type the password your bank set and press Unlock it. You get a copy that opens without a password; the original is left as it was.
Remove a passwordFree. Nothing is uploaded.
How to do it
- Open Remove a password and add the statement, or several.
- Type each file’s password in the box under it and tap Unlock.
- Press Unlock it to make copies that open without a password.
- Save the unlocked copies, or use Save all to keep them together.
What the password usually is
Banks build the password from details they already hold about you. Often it is your date of birth, your customer ID, or part of your name together with part of your date of birth, in a set pattern. It differs from bank to bank and sometimes between kinds of statement, so check the email the statement came with: it normally says exactly what to type.
Why you might want it unlocked
Loan applications, visa files and accountants often want statements they can open without asking you for a password, and some upload forms refuse locked PDFs altogether. Several months can then be joined into one file with Merge, in order.
If you want the numbers in a spreadsheet, you do not need to unlock it first: PDF to Excel asks for the password itself. See bank statement to Excel.
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An unlocked statement shows your account number and every transaction to whoever opens it. If the reader only needs some of it, hide the rest with Remove areas, which takes the marked parts out of the file for good rather than drawing a box over them.
Common mistakes
Most failed tries come from the format, not the details. Banks are strict: the date of birth may be DDMMYYYY or only DDMM, the name in capitals or small letters, with no spaces. Copy the format from the bank’s email exactly. A statement downloaded from net banking can also carry a different password from the one emailed every month; the download page usually says what it is.
A worked example
You need twelve monthly statements for a home loan, each locked with the same password. Open Remove a password and add all twelve. Type the password in the box under each and tap Unlock. Press Unlock it, then Save all to keep the unlocked copies in one folder.
Tap Then to take them to Merge, put them in month order with the arrows, and press Merge into one file, so the lender gets one tidy PDF instead of twelve.
Keep the original
The unlocked copy is a new file; the locked original is left exactly as it was. Keep the original as your own record, and send the unlocked copy only where it is needed. If you would rather send something locked, Add a password can lock the merged file with a password of your own, which you give to the lender separately.
Questions people ask
I don’t know the password. Can you unlock it?
No. The tool only unlocks a file with the password you type; it does not guess passwords. Your bank’s email, website or branch can tell you the format.
Is my statement sent to a server?
No. It is unlocked in your browser. Your statement and its password never leave your device.
Can I unlock twelve months at once?
Yes. Add them all, type each password when asked, and Save all saves the unlocked copies together.
Will the statement’s details change when I unlock it?
No. Unlocking changes nothing on the pages; it only takes away the need for a password to open the file.
Can I unlock a credit card statement the same way?
Yes. Any PDF whose password you know unlocks the same way. Card statements usually have their own password format, given in the card’s email.
Your file stays on your device. Foolscap does the work inside your browser, so nothing is uploaded and there is nothing for anyone to keep. How you can check