How to Scan Documents With Your Phone and Turn Them Into a PDF

2026-11-02 · PDF Simpel team

No scanner? A phone camera is enough to make a neat PDF of your documents, as long as the photos are taken properly.

1. Photograph the document properly

• Bright, even light: near a window in daytime works best. Avoid shadows from your hand or phone.
• Shoot straight from above: hold the phone parallel to the paper so the text is not skewed.
• Contrasting background: put white paper on a dark table so the edges stand out.
• Turn off the flash if it causes glare, especially on glossy or laminated paper.
• Fill the frame: move closer until the document fills the screen with all edges still visible.

2. Combine the photos into a PDF

1. Open the JPG to PDF tool below.
2. Choose all the page photos.
3. Set the page order and paper size (usually A4).
4. Create the PDF and download it.

The photos are processed on your own phone and not uploaded, so it is safe for ID cards and certificates.

3. Adjust the file size

Modern phone photos are 2–5 MB each. If the portal limits file size, shrink the PDF with the Compress PDF tool, then check that the text is still readable.

Common mistakes

• Upside-down or sideways pages: fix them with Rotate PDF.
• Pages in the wrong order: rearrange them with Organize PDF.
• Bits of table or fingers at the edges: crop the photo before making the PDF.