How to scan a paper document into a PDF on iPhone

Quick answer

iPhone can scan documents without downloading another app. Open the “Files” app > tap ”…” > “Scan Documents”, point at the paper, drag the corners to adjust the area, tap “Keep Scan” > “Save”, choose a location, and you have a PDF. You can also do it in “Notes”: tap the attachment button > Scan Documents. If you also need to merge it with other files or compress it to under 2MB, scan and process directly in PassSize.

Method 1: Scan in the Files app (built in, saves straight to PDF)

1. Open the Files app and tap the ”…” (More) button at the top right.
2. Tap “Scan Documents”.
3. Place the document in the camera view. In Auto mode it captures automatically. You can also tap the shutter button, or press either volume button to capture manually.
4. Drag the four corners so the frame fits the paper, then tap “Keep Scan”.
5. For more pages, keep scanning the next one. When all are done, tap Save.
6. Choose where to save and tap Save.

On iOS 26 the scanning screen also offers options like the flash and image filters.

• Pros: once scanned it’s already a PDF, saved right in Files, which is best when you need to upload it.
• Note: files saved to iCloud Drive sync to iCloud. If you don’t want ID-type documents in the cloud, choose On My iPhone.

Method 2: Scan in Notes

1. Open Notes and create or choose a note.
2. Tap the attachment button > “Scan Documents”.
3. Again, point at the document, adjust the area, tap Keep Scan, and finally tap Save.

The scan is kept inside the note. To turn it into a PDF file, open the scanned document > Share > Save to Files.

• Pros: you can also add a signature right in Notes using Markup.
• Cons: one extra step of saving to Files, and if Notes uses an iCloud account, the scan also syncs to iCloud.

How do I get a clean, clear scan?

• Dark background: put white paper on a dark desk and its edges are easier to detect.
• Even lighting: avoid your phone’s own shadow, and when the light is low, try the flash option on the scanning screen.
• Phone parallel to the paper: shoot from directly above for the least distortion.
• All four corners in the frame: a missing corner on an ID or form can easily get it rejected.
• Pick the right filter: for ordinary text documents, black and white or grayscale is usually clearest. Keep color for documents with colored stamps or photos.
• Zoom in to check after scanning: small text, signatures and dates all need to be readable.

Comparing the methods

Method	Straight to PDF	Merge other files	Set file size	Cost
Scan Documents in Files	Yes	No	No	Free
Scan Documents in Notes	Needs Save to Files	No	No	Free
PassSize scanning	Yes	Yes	Yes	5 free uses, then a one-time NT$60 purchase

Scan and organize in one place with PassSize

When you submit documents, it’s often more than one sheet: you may need to put both sides of an ID, an application form and a photo into one PDF, and keep it under 2MB. PassSize can do it all in one app:

• Scan documents: turn paper documents into clear PDFs.
• Merge PDFs: scans can be combined with photos and other PDFs into one file, with drag-to-reorder.
• Organize pages: rotate, delete pages, split into single pages.
• Compress to a set size: 500KB, 1MB, 2MB or custom.
• Private vault: keep IDs and contracts in the vault, which opens only with Face ID or a passcode.
• Scanning, merging and compressing all happen on your phone, with nothing sent to the developer’s server.

If you only need to turn photos into a PDF, see “How to combine multiple photos into one PDF on iPhone”.

A heads-up: every scanned page is an image, so the file grows with more pages. Check the size before uploading, and if it goes over the limit see “How to compress a PDF that’s too large on iPhone”.