How to remove a password from a Word document
- Drop the encrypted
.docxor.docmfile onto the drop zone above, or click to choose it. - Enter the document's current Password, exactly as you would type it when Word asks for it.
- Click Remove password. If the password does not match, the tool reports "Incorrect password" and nothing is changed.
- Download the decrypted copy. A file called
tenancy-agreement.docxis saved astenancy-agreement-unlocked.docxand opens without a prompt.
Decryption runs entirely in your browser, so neither the document nor its password is uploaded.
When removing the password makes sense
Encryption is useful while a document travels, but it can get in the way once the file has arrived. Typical reasons to remove it:
- You want to edit a contract draft in Google Docs or preview it on a device that cannot open encrypted Office files.
- A protected template is used every day by your team, and everyone already knows the password.
- You are archiving finished case files in a system that indexes and searches their content, which encrypted files prevent.
- You want to change the password: remove the old one here, then set a new one with Protect Word.
In every case you need the password. The tool is a convenient way to save a decrypted copy, not a way around the protection. Only unlock documents that you own or that you have been given the password to use.
What the tool can and cannot decrypt
Word has used two AES-based encryption formats since Office 2007, and both are supported:
- Agile Encryption, used by Word 2010 and later, Microsoft 365 and LibreOffice.
- Standard Encryption, used by Word 2007.
Two kinds of file are not supported. Old binary .doc files protected with legacy RC4 encryption must be opened in Word and re-saved as .docx. Documents encrypted with a certificate rather than a password, which some companies use through their rights management systems, cannot be opened here either.
The tool removes only the password to open. If the document also uses Restrict Editing, for example to allow only tracked changes or form filling, that restriction stays in the unlocked copy. You can turn it off in Word under Review > Restrict Editing, which may ask for its own password.
Tips
- Once unlocked, the document can be converted with Word to PDF or Word to HTML.
- An unlocked copy has no protection at all. If you need to store it, consider keeping it inside an encrypted archive created with Password Protect Any File.
- When choosing a replacement password, the password generator creates long random ones in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Can you unlock a Word file if I forgot the password?
No. The tool never cracks or guesses passwords. Without the correct password an encrypted Word document cannot be decrypted. Check password managers and old emails, or ask the person who protected the file.
The tool says "Incorrect password", but I am sure it is right.
Passwords are case-sensitive. Check Caps Lock, your keyboard layout and any spaces at the start or end. Characters such as accented letters can also be typed differently on another keyboard.
Does the unlocked file lose any formatting or tracked changes?
Decryption returns the document package that was encrypted, so its content is unchanged. Only the password protection is removed.
Why does my document still say editing is restricted?
Restrict Editing is a separate setting that this tool does not remove. Switch it off in Word's Review tab.