PDF OCR

Convert a scanned PDF to Google Docs

Recognize text inside image-only PDF pages and turn it into editable, searchable content for Google Docs.

What PDF OCR does

Scanned PDFs contain pictures of text rather than editable characters. OCR identifies the words, follows page order, and produces text you can search, copy, revise, and format in Docs.

Useful document types

  • Scanned contracts and agreements
  • Archived reports and correspondence
  • Printed forms and questionnaires
  • Classroom readings and research notes
  • Phone photos saved as PDF

How it works

  1. Upload the PDF. Use the private web dashboard or install OCRToDocs in Google Workspace.
  2. Select text document output. This mode prioritizes readable page text and document flow.
  3. Run OCR. The service processes each page and returns recognized text.
  4. Review and format. Check important details and restore headings, lists, or tables as needed.

Get better PDF OCR results

Use the original PDF instead of a screenshot, rotate pages correctly, remove blank pages, and avoid heavily compressed scans. For difficult files, follow the OCR accuracy checklist.

Need rows and columns instead? Use PDF to Google Sheets OCR when the table structure matters more than paragraph flow.