How to Convert a Scanned PDF to Word on iPhone (OCR)

A scanned PDF is a picture of a page, so there is no text in it to copy. To get an editable Word file, the text has to be recognised first (OCR). Pageva does that on your iPhone.

Get it on the App Store

From a scanned PDF

  1. Open Pageva and tap Choose a PDF.
  2. Pick the scanned file. Pageva notices pages that have no text layer and runs text recognition on them.
  3. Choose Editable Word and convert.
  4. Share the DOCX or save it to Files.

From paper, with the camera

  1. Tap Scan to convert on the Home screen.
  2. Photograph each page. The scanner finds the edges and straightens the page.
  3. Review the pages and tap Convert these pages.

Getting the best result

  • Scan in good, even light and keep the page flat.
  • Straight, high-contrast text recognises best; handwriting may not.
  • Check names and numbers in the result. OCR is good, not perfect.

Free and Pro

Your first long document is converted in full, free. After that, the free version writes the first three pages of each export, with text recognition on those pages. Pageva Pro converts whole documents and runs recognition on every page of a scan.

Private by design

Recognition runs on the iPhone, so a scanned ID, invoice or letter is never uploaded. Read more about converting offline.

Questions

Why can't I copy text from my scanned PDF?

A scan stores each page as an image. Text recognition (OCR) has to read the image before the words can be edited.

Does OCR need an internet connection?

Not in Pageva. Recognition runs on the device.

Updated: 2026-10-10