Why does my PDF say it is damaged and could not be repaired?

Usually because the file is incomplete or its index is wrong: a download that was interrupted, an attachment that was cut short, a copy from a failing USB stick, or a program that crashed while saving. The pages are often still inside the file. Drop it here: it is rebuilt without relying on the broken index, and you see the pages before you save it.

Some pages come out blank. Can they be recovered?

Not from this file. A page comes out blank when its text or pictures were in the part of the file that is missing - the end of a cut-off download, say. The page itself is kept, so the rest of the document stays in order. Downloading the PDF again, or finding the original e-mail or backup, is the way to get those pages back.

Is a PDF that is 0 KB repairable?

No. A file of 0 bytes, or one that is all zeros, never had the document written into it - nothing of it is left to rebuild. The page says so straight away. Look for another copy, or run a recovery program on the disk or card it came from.

The PDF asks for a password. Can this help?

A damaged PDF with a password is repaired with its encryption as it was, so it still needs the password to open. But when the end of such a file is missing, the key to read it went with it, and the page says so rather than give back pages nobody can read. To take a password off a PDF you can already open, use the PDF Toolkit.

Is my PDF uploaded to repair it?

No. Most online repair tools send your document to their server. Here it is read and rebuilt by your browser on your own computer, which matters for contracts, statements and anything private.

Stays on your computer How this works

Repair a PDF that will not open

"The file is damaged and could not be repaired", "failed to load PDF document", or a PDF that opens blank? Rebuild it in your browser - from a cut-off download, a bad copy or a crashed save - and get back every page that is still there. Nothing is uploaded.

Drag & drop the damaged PDF here, or browse

.pdf · any size · nothing is uploaded

About repairing PDFs

A PDF is a collection of pieces - pages, fonts, pictures - with an index at the end that says where each one is in the file. Most PDFs that will not open have a problem with that index, not with the pages: a download or copy that stopped before the end, where the index is kept; an e-mail or website that wrapped the file in something extra; or a program that crashed while saving and left the index pointing at the wrong places. Readers give up with "the file is damaged and could not be repaired" or "failed to load PDF document", though the pages are still in the file.

This page reads the file piece by piece, as it is actually laid out, instead of trusting the index, and writes it out again with a new one. A file that stops part way keeps every page whose pieces arrived; the repaired PDF is then opened by a second reader to show that its pages draw. It is free to use, with no account and no upload limit, and it runs entirely in your browser: nothing is uploaded, and while the page stays open, a feature you have already used keeps working offline.

What you can do

Repair a PDF that Adobe Reader, Chrome, Edge or Preview will not open, with "damaged", "corrupt" or "failed to load" errors
Get back the pages of a PDF whose download, e-mail attachment or copy did not finish
Fix a PDF with something else in front of it, from an e-mail program or a website, that readers do not recognise
Rebuild the page list when it was lost, putting every page found back in order
See the repaired pages before saving, and which could not be drawn
Save the text that can still be read when the PDF itself is beyond repair

How to repair a damaged PDF

Drop the PDF on the box above. It is checked and repaired at once.
Look at the repaired pages, and at what was wrong with the file.
Save the repaired PDF; the original is not changed.

Questions

Why does my PDF say it is damaged and could not be repaired?: Usually because the file is incomplete or its index is wrong: a download that was interrupted, an attachment that was cut short, a copy from a failing USB stick, or a program that crashed while saving. The pages are often still inside the file. Drop it here: it is rebuilt without relying on the broken index, and you see the pages before you save it.
Some pages come out blank. Can they be recovered?: Not from this file. A page comes out blank when its text or pictures were in the part of the file that is missing - the end of a cut-off download, say. The page itself is kept, so the rest of the document stays in order. Downloading the PDF again, or finding the original e-mail or backup, is the way to get those pages back.
Is a PDF that is 0 KB repairable?: No. A file of 0 bytes, or one that is all zeros, never had the document written into it - nothing of it is left to rebuild. The page says so straight away. Look for another copy, or run a recovery program on the disk or card it came from.
The PDF asks for a password. Can this help?: A damaged PDF with a password is repaired with its encryption as it was, so it still needs the password to open. But when the end of such a file is missing, the key to read it went with it, and the page says so rather than give back pages nobody can read. To take a password off a PDF you can already open, use the PDF Toolkit.
Is my PDF uploaded to repair it?: No. Most online repair tools send your document to their server. Here it is read and rebuilt by your browser on your own computer, which matters for contracts, statements and anything private.