To scan a document to PDF on iPhone, open a note in Notes, tap the Attachment button, choose Scan Documents and hold the page in view: the iPhone captures it as soon as it finds the edges, and the finished scan is saved in the note as a PDF. The Files app has the same scanner under its More button and saves the PDF to a folder you pick, and since iOS 26 the Preview app on iPhone scans to PDF too. All three are free and already on your iPhone.
Three built-in scanners, three destinations
The scanning screen looks almost the same in each app. What differs is where the PDF ends up:
| App | How to start a scan | Where the PDF goes |
|---|---|---|
| Notes | In a note, tap the Attachment button, then Scan Documents | Inside that note, searchable from Notes |
| Files | Tap the More button, then Scan Documents | A folder you choose, such as one in iCloud Drive |
| Preview (iOS 26 and later) | Tap Scan Documents on the start screen | One PDF that you can rename, move or lock with a password |
Choose Notes when the scan belongs with other information, like a receipt next to a trip plan. Choose Files or Preview when you want a standalone PDF to email, upload or keep in a folder.
Scan to PDF in Notes, step by step
- Open Notes and open the note you want, or start a new one.
- Tap the Attachment button, then Scan Documents. Inside an open note, the More button also has a Scan option.
- Hold the iPhone over the page. On iOS 26 and later you can set the flash or a filter before you shoot.
- Keep still. In Auto mode the page is captured as soon as its edges are found. To shoot yourself, tap the shutter or press a volume button, drag the corners to fit the page, then tap Keep Scan.
- Scan the next page the same way, then tap Done (older versions label it Save). Every page lands in the note as one PDF.
Files works the same way from its More button, with one extra step at the end: choose a location and tap Save. In Preview, tap the page thumbnails before you finish to crop, rotate or adjust the color of a page.
Save, share or sign the PDF
A scan in Notes is already a PDF. Tap the menu button on the scan in your note to rename, copy or share it, then send it by Mail, Messages or AirDrop, or choose Save to Files to keep a copy as a standalone file. To sign it, tap the scan, tap the Markup button, tap the Add button and choose Signature, place a saved signature or draw a new one, and tap Done. Preview on iOS 26 and later can also fill out PDF forms and lock a PDF with a password from the menu next to its file name.
Use the Camera when you only need the words
A scan keeps a picture of the page. If all you need is what it says, such as a serial number, a Wi-Fi password or one paragraph, point the Camera at it, wait for the yellow frame around the text, tap the Live Text button and copy what you need. In Notes, the Attachment button's Scan Text option goes a step further and types the words the camera sees into the note as editable text.
Copy the text out of a scanned PDF
Notes reads your scans, so searching for a word inside a scanned receipt or letter finds the note that holds it. To copy from a scan, open it full screen with Quick Look, touch and hold a word to start a Live Text selection, drag the grab points and tap Copy. The guide to copying text from a PDF on iPhone covers PDFs that were made digitally rather than scanned.
With a receipt, that is the quickest way to get the total and the vendor's name into an expense app while the paper is still in front of you.
Copying several fields is where it slows down. The iPhone clipboard holds one item, so the name you copied from page one is gone the moment you copy the address on page two. Save each field to Clipboard AI as you go, by switching to its keyboard with the globe key or by opening the app, and the earlier fields stay in your history instead of being overwritten. Or save a screenshot of the page to Clipboard AI: it reads the text on the device, puts phone numbers, amounts and dates on chips you tap to copy, and on iOS 26 and later turns a table into rows that paste into Numbers or Sheets. Copying text from a screenshot walks through both routes, and the text from images and PDFs guides cover the rest.
Tips for a sharp scan
- Contrast. Put a white page on a dark surface so the edges stand out and the scanner finds them faster.
- Even light. Daylight or a lamp off to one side beats an overhead light, which throws your own shadow across the page and glares on glossy paper. Save the flash for dim rooms, since it can leave a bright spot in the middle.
- Straight on. Hold the iPhone parallel to the page with a little margin around it. The scanner corrects a slight tilt, not a steep angle.
- Flat pages. Unfold creases, take out staples where you can, and press a bound book flat one page at a time.
- The right filter. Black and white suits pages of plain text, grayscale or color suits forms with stamps and highlights, and the photo filter keeps a picture as it is. You can change it after capture by tapping the page thumbnail.
Keep scans organized and private
Give each scan a name you will search for later, like "2026 electricity bill", instead of the default. In Notes, keep scans in a folder of their own and lock any note that holds a passport or ID card. In Files, a Scans folder in iCloud Drive keeps the PDFs available on your other devices.
When a scanner app is worth installing
The built-in scanners cover most paperwork. Dedicated apps add searchable text stored inside the PDF file itself, so the scan stays searchable on any computer, and automatic uploads to cloud storage. Adobe Scan is free with in-app purchases and makes the words in a scan searchable and editable. Readdle's Scanner Pro, also free with in-app purchases, turns scans into searchable PDFs and can upload them to services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive. Microsoft Lens, once a common pick, has been retired: Microsoft stopped new scans in it on March 9, 2026 and points people to the scanner in the OneDrive app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I scan with my iPhone straight into my Mac?
Yes. In Notes, Mail, Finder, Pages or TextEdit on the Mac, choose File > Insert from iPhone or iPad > Scan Documents, or Control-click and choose Scan Documents. The iPhone's camera opens, you scan the pages, and when you tap Save they appear on the Mac as a PDF. Apple calls this Continuity Camera.
Can I edit the text in a scanned PDF?
No, not directly. A scan is a picture of each page, so its words cannot be retyped in place. Copy them out with Live Text into a note or document and edit there, or capture the page with Notes' Scan Text option from the start, which gives you editable text instead of an image.
Can the Camera app save a document as a PDF?
No. The Camera app saves photos, and its Live Text only copies words. A scanner in Notes, Files or Preview is the way to get a PDF, and it also straightens the page and crops out the background, which a plain photo does not.
Sources
- Apple Support, “How to scan documents on your iPhone or iPad”, February 13, 2026
- Apple Support, “Scan text and documents in Notes using the iPhone camera”, iPhone User Guide for iOS 27, 26 and 17, read October 5, 2026
- Apple Support, “Scan text and documents in Preview on iPhone”, iPhone User Guide for iOS 26, read October 5, 2026
- Apple Support, “Get started with Preview on iPhone”, read October 5, 2026
- Apple Support, “Work with PDFs in Notes on iPhone”, read October 5, 2026
- Apple Support, “Search through your notes on iPhone”, read October 5, 2026
- Apple Support, “Use Live Text with your iPhone camera”, read October 5, 2026
- Apple Support, “Interact with content in a photo or video on iPhone”, read October 5, 2026
- Apple Support, “Continuity Camera: Use your iPhone or iPad to scan documents or take a picture on your Mac”, read October 5, 2026
- App Store, “Adobe Scan: PDF & Doc Scanner”, read October 5, 2026
- App Store, “Scanner Pro - Scan to PDF”, read October 5, 2026
- gHacks, “Microsoft Is Ending Support for Office Lens on iOS and Android”, January 13, 2026
