How To Flatten A PDF 100% FREE (Restrict Forms, Etc)

You’re probably in one of the following situations:

• You have a PDF that’s fillable, but you want to restrict the editing/filling of the forms.
• You simply don’t want anyone to copy-paste the information, data or images found in your PDF.
• You want to make the PDF Flat - like an image. No one should interact with it.
• Your PDF has checkboxes or buttons that you don’t want anyone to tick or click.

In either case, this is what our PDF Flattener is here for.

And the great news is that you’ll be able to do it on this very page.

That’s right - no need to download anything or even open a new tab.

How to flatten a PDF for free

1. Upload your document above (or just drag and drop)
2. Click “Apply Changes”

Wait a few seconds ⏲️.

Then you can download your new file with the updated pages! You’re done!

PRO Tip: If you also want to re-order the pages, feel free to drag and drop them around. At the end, the PDF file you’ll download will not only have the rotated-pages changes applied — it will also respect the order of the pages you’ve set.

How to flatten only form fields in a PDF

You might want to only want to restrict forms, but not anything else.

When flattening everything, images, text, checkboxes, buttons, etc all get flattened (meaning: turning them into elements you can’t interact with).

What if you only want forms to be restricted?

You can do that too, using our tool below.

Here’s how to flatten only forms in a PDF:

1. Upload your document above (or just drag and drop)
2. Select “Flatten only form fields”
3. Click “Apply Changes”

Wait a few seconds ⏲️.

Then you can download your new file with the updated pages! You’re done!

PRO Tip: We’re discreetly adding our other tools in the window above, if you need them. Hover a page to delete/rotate a page 😉.

What does “Flatten PDF” mean?

A PDF document can be complex.

It can have text, images, buttons, fillable forms, fillable checkboxes and the likes of it.

Sometimes, however, people might not want those elements to be interacted with.

Why?

Text can be copied, images can be cloned, or forms can be tampered with.

On the forms example especially, if it’s editable and someone added in some information, that information can be edited.

Enter: PDF Flattening.

With that, the exact way the PDF looks like will be turned into an image, so that it looks the exact same.

However, it will not be editable anymore in any way.

Same looks, no more functionality.

Can flattened PDF be edited?

No, flattened PDFs cannot be edited, as they were meant to be like that when they were flattened.

Elements that you could have interacted with before flattening are now “flat” — meaning you can’t edit any layer on top of the PDF.

Can you turn a flat PDF into a non-flat PDF? Check out our FAQ at the end of this article.