Translate PDF
Translate PDF documents into another language while keeping the layout — coming soon.
Translate PDF is on our roadmap
This conversion needs specialised processing that we can't run privately in your browser yet, so the tool isn't available today. Here's what it will do when it launches — and what you can use right now.
- 1Upload a PDF — scanned pages will be run through OCR first so their text can be translated.
- 2Choose the source and target language from more than 100 languages.
- 3Download a translated PDF that keeps the original layout, images, and formatting.
The most-requested tools are built first.
Available now
How PDF Translation Works
Translating a PDF is harder than translating a text file. A PDF stores words as positioned pieces of text, often split across lines and columns, mixed with images, tables, and fonts that only contain the characters of the original language. A good PDF translator has to pull the text out in the right reading order, translate it, and put it back so the document still looks like itself. PDFDoco's Translate PDF tool will do exactly that. It isn't available yet — this page explains what it will do, what to consider when translating documents, and what you can use in the meantime.
- 1
Upload a PDF
Digital PDFs and scanned documents; scanned pages will be OCR'd first.
- 2
Pick languages
Choose the source language, or let it be detected, and one of 100+ target languages.
- 3
Translate
Text is translated block by block, keeping headings, paragraphs, and tables together.
- 4
Download
Get a translated PDF that keeps the original layout, images, and page structure.
Layout preserved
Translated text is placed back where the original was, with images and tables kept.
Works with scans
Scanned pages will be converted to text with OCR before translation.
100+ languages
Translate between major world languages, including right-to-left scripts.
Keeping the original layout
Translations rarely have the same length as the original — German and French text is often longer than English, while Chinese and Japanese are usually shorter. To keep the layout, a translator has to fit each translated block into the space of the original, adjusting font size or line spacing where needed, and swap in fonts that contain the target language's characters. Tables, captions, headers, and footers need to stay attached to the right content. That's the core of what this tool will handle for you.
Scanned PDFs and OCR
A scanned PDF is a set of page images with no real text inside, so there is nothing to translate until the words are recognised. Optical character recognition (OCR) reads the text from each image first. The quality of the scan matters: straight, high-contrast pages at 300 dpi give far better results than skewed or blurry photos. If you scan documents for translation, scan in black and white or grayscale at a good resolution.
Machine vs. human translation
Machine translation is fast and good enough to understand a document, review a foreign-language report, or prepare a first draft. For contracts, court documents, immigration papers, medical records, and anything with legal or financial consequences, use a qualified human translator — and a certified translation where an authority requires one. Machine output can miss nuance, terminology, and context, and it isn't accepted as an official translation.
Privacy when translating documents
Translation needs language engines that can't run privately in your browser today, so this tool will process files on secure servers. Files will be sent over an encrypted connection and deleted after translation. For highly confidential material, consider translating only the pages you actually need — extract them first — or removing sensitive sections before translating.
Want this tool sooner? Use the Request this tool button above — we prioritise the tools our users ask for most.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Translate PDF available yet?
Not yet. Layout-preserving translation needs server-side translation and OCR engines, and we're building it properly rather than offering a tool that breaks documents. This page will become the working tool when it launches.
Which languages will be supported?
The plan is more than 100 languages, including major European and Asian languages and right-to-left scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew.
Will the translated PDF keep my layout?
That's the goal of the tool: translated text is placed back into the original layout, keeping images, tables, and page structure. Very long translations may use slightly smaller text to fit the original space.
Can it translate scanned PDFs?
Yes, when it launches. Scanned pages will be run through OCR first to recognise the text, then translated. Clear, straight scans give the best results.
Is machine translation good enough for legal documents?
It's useful for understanding a document, but not as a replacement for a professional translator. For contracts, court filings, and official papers, use a qualified human translator, and a certified translation where one is required.
How can I translate a PDF today?
If you only need part of a document, use Extract PDF Pages to pull out those pages first. For a few words or a short correction, the PDF Editor lets you add text yourself. You can also copy text from a digital PDF into a translation service of your choice.