Flatten a PDF, free, in your browser

Form fields and annotations drawn into the page content, so the file looks the same in every viewer and on paper, and nothing in it can be edited any more. Nothing is uploaded.

Drop a PDF with forms or notes

PDF · any size

✓ no upload✓ no limits✓ same in every viewer✓ works offline

How flattening works here

Drop the file. The PDF opens in a worker in your tab; the engine counts the fields and annotations.
Flatten. The engine that draws forms on screen draws them into the page content instead, page by page.
Download. The form dictionary and the annotation lists are removed, and the result is checked by re-opening it.

What it does

Keeps the values typed into the fields, as drawn.
Keeps highlights, stamps and shapes as page content; a note keeps only its icon, so its text is gone.
Removes the fields themselves, so nothing can be changed by accident.
Reads a protected file when you type the password.

What it does not do

It does not flatten XFA forms (the older Adobe-only kind); it says so when it meets one.
It does not remove a digital signature's appearance, and it does invalidate the signature, as any change does.
It cannot be undone; keep the original.

Questions

When should I flatten?

Before sending a filled form somewhere it must not change, before printing from a viewer that draws fields badly, and when a reader's app shows empty fields that are filled in yours.

Will the filled values still show?

Yes. They are drawn into the page exactly as the viewer would draw them.

Why does my form look different after flattening?

A field that was never drawn (no appearance stream) is drawn by this engine for the first time; a different viewer may have drawn it in its own style.

Does my file leave my computer?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab. The only network requests are the site's own files.