--- title: "JavaScript password-protected PDF: Add password to PDF | Nutrient" canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/document-security/password-protect-pdf/" md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/document-security/password-protect-pdf.md" last_updated: "2026-05-25T18:42:17.819Z" description: "Discover how to create a password-protected PDF document. Use password-protected PDFs if your document contains sensitive information." --- # Password protect PDFs using JavaScript This guide explains how to create a password-protected PDF document. Use password-protected PDFs if your document contains sensitive information and if you want to set different permissions for users and owners. To create a password-protected PDF from a document, follow these steps: 1. [Load the source document](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/open-a-document.md). 2. Use the `exportPDF` method to convert the source document to a password-protected PDF. This method takes an object as its parameter, which configures the conversion. For conversion to a password-protected PDF, add a `permissions` key to the configuration object that you pass to the `exportPDF` method. The value of this key is an object with the following key-value pairs: - `userPassword` takes a string value that specifies the user password. Users might have limited access to the document depending on how you configure user permissions with the `documentPermissions` parameter. - `ownerPassword` takes a string value that specifies the owner password. Owners have full access to the document. - `documentPermissions` takes an array that specifies what users can do with the document. For more information on setting user permissions, see [Setting User Permissions](#setting-user-permissions). 3. Save the output document. The `exportPDF` method returns a `Promise` that resolves to an `ArrayBuffer` that contains the output PDF document. You can use the resulting `ArrayBuffer` to download or persist the output PDF in storage. For more information on downloading or persisting the exported `ArrayBuffer`, see the [guides on saving a document](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/save-a-document.md). The example below loads a PDF document and exports it to a PDF that can only be opened with the user password, and users can only view the document. [Try it in the Playground](https://www.nutrient.io/demo/sandbox?p=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%3D). ```js NutrientViewer.load({ container: "#pspdfkit", document: "source.pdf", licenseKey: "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY" }).then(async (instance) => { console.log("Document loaded"); const buffer = await instance.exportPDF({ permissions: { userPassword: "u$erp@ssw0rd", ownerPassword: "ownerp@ssw0rd", documentPermissions: [] } }); console.log("Password-protected PDF exported"); return buffer; }).catch((error) => { console.error("Failed to process document:", error.message); }); ``` The example below loads a PDF document, exports it to a PDF protected by both a user and owner password, and sets the user permissions. Finally, it downloads the output PDF in the client’s browser: ```js NutrientViewer.load({ container: "#pspdfkit", document: "source.pdf", licenseKey: "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY" }).then((instance) => instance.exportPDF({ permissions: { userPassword: "userp@ssw0rd", ownerPassword: "ownerp@ssw0rd", documentPermissions: [ NutrientViewer.DocumentPermissions.annotationsAndForms, NutrientViewer.DocumentPermissions.assemble, NutrientViewer.DocumentPermissions.extract, NutrientViewer.DocumentPermissions.extractAccessibility, NutrientViewer.DocumentPermissions.fillForms, NutrientViewer.DocumentPermissions.modification, NutrientViewer.DocumentPermissions.printHighQuality, NutrientViewer.DocumentPermissions.printing ] } }) ).then((buffer) => { const blob = new Blob([buffer], { type: "application/pdf" }); const objectUrl = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob); downloadPdf(objectUrl); window.URL.revokeObjectURL(objectUrl); console.log("Password-protected PDF downloaded"); }).catch((error) => { console.error("Failed to process document:", error.message); }); function downloadPdf(blobUrl) { const a = document.createElement("a"); a.href = blobUrl; a.style.display = "none"; a.download = "output.pdf"; a.setAttribute("download", "output.pdf"); document.body.appendChild(a); a.click(); document.body.removeChild(a); } ``` When exporting a document, you have several options. Refer to our guides on [flattening annotations](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/annotations/flatten.md) and [incremental saving](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/features/document-processing.md) for more details. Auto saving can be configured for different scenarios and use cases. You can find more information in our [auto save](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/features/saving.md) guide. ## Setting user permissions Specify what users can do to a password-protected document with the `documentPermissions` parameter. The value of this parameter is an array, where each element is a member of the `DocumentPermissions` enumeration. By adding members of the `DocumentPermissions` enumeration to the array, you can set the following permissions: - `annotationsAndForms` allows users to add or modify text annotations and fill in interactive form fields. - `assemble` allows users to insert, rotate, or delete pages and create document outline items or thumbnail images. - `extract` allows users to copy or otherwise extract text and graphics from the document. - `extractAccessibility` allows users to copy or otherwise extract text and graphics from the document using accessibility options. - `fillForms` allows users to fill in existing interactive form fields (including signature fields). - `modification` allows users to modify the document in any way not covered by the other permissions settings. - `printHighQuality` allows users to print the document in high quality. - `printing` allows users to print the document. --- ## Related pages - [Document security in our JavaScript PDF viewer](/guides/web/document-security.md) - [Add watermarks to PDFs using JavaScript](/guides/web/document-security/add-a-watermark.md) - [Open PDFs without downloading using JavaScript](/guides/web/document-security/open-without-downloading.md) - [Disable download and print options in our JavaScript PDF viewer](/guides/web/document-security/prevent-print-or-download.md) - [Document security with Nutrient Web SDK](/guides/web/document-security/with-server-backed.md)