How to scan documents to PDF with your phone

To scan to PDF with your phone, open a document scanner, point the camera at the page, let it find the edges, and save. A good scanner flattens the page, removes the shadows and whitens the background, then joins every page into one PDF. It takes seconds per page and gives you a file most offices accept.

Why a scanner is better than a plain photo

You could just take a photo of a letter and send it. The problem is that a photo is not a scan. It includes the table, your fingers and the shadow of your phone. The page is often tilted, so lines run uphill. The paper looks grey or yellow, and the file is large.

A document scanner fixes all of that:

• it detects the four corners of the page and crops to them;
• it corrects the angle so the page looks flat and square;
• it evens out the lighting and makes the background white;
• it can sharpen text so it reads clearly when printed;
• it saves several pages into one PDF instead of a pile of photos.

The result is smaller, cleaner and easier for the other person to read. That is the real difference between a quick snap and a proper scan to PDF.

How to scan to PDF on Android

1. Place the document on a flat, plain surface with good light.
2. Open your scanner and hold the phone straight above the page.
3. Wait for the page edges to be detected, then capture. Some scanners capture automatically.
4. Check the crop. Drag any corner that missed the edge of the paper.
5. Choose a filter, such as clean colour, greyscale or black and white.
6. Add the next page and repeat until you have them all.
7. Save as PDF and give the file a clear name.

Before you send it, flick through every page once. It is much easier to rescan a blurry page now than after the recipient asks for it.

Which filter should you choose?

• Black and white suits printed letters, forms and contracts. Files are small and text looks crisp.
• Greyscale keeps soft detail such as pencil marks or faint stamps.
• Colour is right for documents where colour carries meaning, such as ID cards, certificates with seals, or charts.

If you are not sure, colour with automatic clean-up is a safe default. For more on getting crisp pages, read our phone scanning tips.

Scanning multi-page documents

For a contract or a booklet, keep the pages in order as you go. If one goes wrong, retake just that page rather than starting again. Most scanners let you reorder, rotate or delete pages before saving.

For double-sided documents, scan all the fronts first, then all the backs, and reorder afterwards. It is faster than turning each sheet over.

Make the scan searchable

A scanned PDF is a set of pictures. You can read it, but you cannot search for a word or copy a sentence. To fix that, run OCR (optical character recognition), which reads the text in the image and adds a hidden text layer. The guide to making a scanned PDF searchable explains how.

What should you scan?

People often scan only when someone asks. It is worth scanning a few things in advance, so you have them when you need them:

• identity documents, such as both sides of your ID card or driving licence;
• certificates, transcripts and reference letters;
• tenancy agreements and important contracts;
• warranty cards and receipts for expensive items;
• medical reports and prescriptions.

Store them somewhere private. For identity cards, the ID card to PDF guide shows how to fit both sides on one page.

Keep private scans private

Scans of IDs, bank letters and medical papers are exactly the kind of files you do not want on a stranger's server. Prefer a scanner that saves the file on your phone. If you need to send the scan, consider protecting it with a password, and delete copies from chat apps when the job is done.

Scanning with PDF Burrow

PDF Burrow has a Scan to PDF tool that photographs documents, auto-cleans each page and exports one PDF, all on your phone. You can then run Make Searchable (OCR) to turn the pages into searchable text on device. For bills and receipts, the Bills & Receipts tool can pick out the due date and amount and set a reminder. Our guide to scanning bills and receipts covers that in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

Is a phone scan good enough for official documents?

For most everyday uses, such as job applications, rentals and online forms, a clean phone scan is accepted. Some organisations still ask for originals or certified copies, so check their rules.

Why is my scanned PDF so big?

Colour scans of many pages add up quickly. Use black and white for text pages and compress the finished PDF if you need to email or upload it.

Can I scan a document without internet?

The scanning itself does not need to send your document anywhere. Some phones download a scanning component the first time you use it, but after that your pages are processed on the device.

How do I scan a page from a book without the curve?

Press the book as flat as you can, scan one page at a time, and shoot from straight above. Scanner apps correct the angle, but they cannot fully remove a deep curve near the spine.