How to Unlock Many PDFs at Once (Monthly Statements)

Preview handles one PDF at a time; to unlock many statements that share a password, use a batch tool such as UnKey Pro or a qpdf script.

If you have a stack of statements, say twelve months from the same bank, that all use the same password, you don't have to unlock them one by one. Built-in tools like Preview work one file at a time. A batch tool such as UnKey Pro, or a short qpdf script on a Mac, can do them all together. You still need to know the password.

Why batch unlocking helps

Most issuers protect every statement with the same password format based on your details. So the password for October usually also opens January to September. That's when a batch tool saves time, typically at tax time, for a loan application, or when you hand a year of statements to an accountant.

Free option: Preview on Mac, one by one

Preview can open several PDFs at once, but removing the password is a per-file job. For each PDF you enter the password, choose File > Export, check that Require Password To Open Document is off under Permissions, and save (Apple: Password-protect a PDF in Preview). For three or four files that's fine. For thirty it gets tedious, and it's easy to miss one.

On iPhone and iPad, the free methods (Preview's Lock setting, or the Print-to-PDF workaround) are also one file at a time.

UnKey Pro: batch unlock on iPhone, iPad and Mac

1. Put the statements in one folder in Files or Finder.
2. In UnKey, use batch unlock and select the files. On Mac you can drag them onto the window.
3. Enter the password, or let UnKey use one you saved earlier with Face ID or Touch ID.
4. UnKey saves an unlocked copy of each file. Check the results, and unlock any file that uses a different password on its own.

Batch unlock is part of UnKey Pro, a one-time purchase (₹249 in India, $5.99 in the US). Pro also adds scanning, signing and filling, locking, compression and redaction, and one purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. Unlocking single files is free. Everything happens on your device, and nothing is uploaded.

Free option for technical users: qpdf

qpdf is a free, open-source command-line tool. With --password and --decrypt it writes an unencrypted copy of a file (qpdf documentation). In Terminal, a loop over a folder looks like this:

for f in *.pdf; do qpdf --decrypt --password="$PDFPASS" "$f" "unlocked-$f"; done

Set PDFPASS first, ideally without leaving it in your shell history. Files that use a different password will fail with an error and won't be skipped silently. You install qpdf yourself, for example with Homebrew.

When the files don't share one password

• Different accounts: a savings account and a credit card from the same bank often use different formats. Sort them into separate folders.
• Format changes: issuers sometimes change the format. Older statements may need the old one.
• Joint or business accounts: the password may be based on the primary holder's or the company's details.

After unlocking a batch

• Open two or three of the copies to check them before deleting any originals.
• Use clear names, for example "2026-04-statement-unlocked.pdf".
• Keep the unlocked folder private. A year of statements is a detailed picture of your finances.
• If you're sending them to an accountant, consider sending the protected originals and sharing the password separately.

Questions

Sources

• Apple – Password-protect a PDF in Preview on Mac
• qpdf – Command-line options

Formats can change. If a password doesn't work, check the email the document came with or contact the issuer. UnKey isn't affiliated with any bank, employer or authority named here.