How to Scan a Document to PDF on iPhone (Free)

A paper document needs to become a PDF and you have an iPhone in your pocket. That is a complete workflow. You can scan a document to PDF on iPhone for free in two ways: with the scanner Apple builds into the Files and Notes apps, or with a browser-based scanner in Safari that runs entirely on the phone.

How do I scan a document to PDF on my iPhone?

Open the Files app, tap the More button (three dots) and choose Scan Documents. Hold the iPhone over the page; it detects the edges and captures automatically. Scan the remaining pages, tap Save, and the PDF lands in the folder you were in. The Notes app has the same scanner.

1. 1Open Files and go to the folder you want.
2. 2Tap the More button, then Scan Documents.
3. 3Hold the iPhone over each page.
4. 4Tap Save: the PDF is saved in that folder.

Scan with the built-in Notes app

Notes uses the same scanner but keeps the scan inside a note first, which is handy if you want it alongside other notes:

1. 1Open Notes and start a new note.
2. 2Tap the camera or attachment (paperclip) icon in the toolbar, depending on your iOS version, then Scan Documents.
3. 3Hold the iPhone over the page. The scanner frames it and captures when it is steady.
4. 4Keep scanning pages; each is added to the same document. Tap Save.
5. 5Open the scan in the note, tap Share and choose Save to Files to get a standalone PDF, or send it directly.

Apple’s scanner is quick and automatic, and it is the best zero-setup option for a simple document. Where it runs out is the specialised jobs: there is no password option at save time, no way to put both sides of an ID card on one page, and no automatic split of a book spread into separate pages.

Scan in Safari with auto page detection

For those jobs, the Scan PDF tool runs in Safari (or Chrome) on your iPhone with no install:

1. 1Open the Scan PDF tool in Safari and tap Open camera. Allow camera access when Safari asks.
2. 2Pick a mode above the shutter: Document for ordinary pages, Book to split an open book into left and right pages, ID card for front and back on one page, Business card, or Whiteboard.
3. 3Hold the iPhone over the page. The outline turns green when it is steady and the page is captured automatically; tap the shutter to take it yourself.
4. 4Turn to the next page; it is captured too. The counter on the thumbnail shows your page count.
5. 5Tap the thumbnail to review. Crop with a magnifier, rotate, change the filter, add a signature with Markup, or drag pages into order with Reorder.
6. 6Tap Save PDF. Name the file, choose a page size (A4, Letter and others), switch on Recognize text (OCR) for a searchable PDF, and add a password if needed.
7. 7Tap Save as PDF, then Share and choose Save to Files, or send it by Mail or Messages.

Which scanner should you use?

iPhone-specific tips

• If Safari never asks for the camera, check Settings > Apps > Safari > Camera (Settings > Safari > Camera on older iOS) and set it to Ask or Allow.
• Photos you already took can be imported from the camera screen’s Photos button; HEIC images are supported and get the same edge detection and straightening.
• A phone call or a locked screen does not lose your work. The scanning session is kept in the browser and comes back when you reopen the page.
• Saved PDFs are listed under Recent scans on the tool page, stored only in Safari on this iPhone.

Make the result smaller if needed

A scan of a dense page can be a few megabytes, which is over some upload limits. In the Safari scanner, choose File size Small when saving; it keeps text readable and keeps the OCR text layer. With the Files or Notes scanner, compress the PDF afterwards in your browser.