Finding your statement’s password
Every bank sets its own format, and they change it from time to time, so the most reliable place to look is the email the statement came with. Search your inbox for the statement and look for a line like “Your statement is password protected. The password is…”. It’s often near the bottom, in small print.
The usual ingredients are:
- your date of birth, as DDMMYYYY or DDMM;
- the first few letters of your name, often in capitals;
- the last 4 or more digits of your account, card or customer ID number;
- a mix, like the first 4 letters of your name followed by your date of birth as DDMM.
A credit card statement can have a different password from the same bank’s account statement, so check its own email too.
When you need an unlocked statement
- Loan applications usually want the last 3 to 6 months of statements, and many loan portals can’t read a locked PDF.
- Visa applications often ask for 3 to 6 months of statements, uploaded or printed.
- Income tax returns, when you or your accountant check interest earned and transactions.
- Rent and address proof, where a statement shows your address.
Several months at once
If the form wants all the statements as one PDF, you can skip unlocking each one. Drop them all into Merge PDF: it asks for each locked file’s password, and you get one combined PDF that opens without a password. Press Sort by name if the files are named by date, or drag them into order.
If the combined file is too big for the upload, Compress PDF brings it under the form’s limit.
Only the pages they need
A statement often has pages of terms and conditions at the end. Delete PDF pages removes them, which also makes the file smaller.
Keeping it private
Your statement shows your balance, your spending and your account number. Unlocking happens on your device, and neither the statement nor the password is sent anywhere, including to us.
Once you’ve uploaded it, delete the unlocked copy from Downloads. If you’re sending it by email, consider adding a watermark like “For XYZ visa application only”. To lock it again with your own password, use Protect PDF.
Checked against the tool on 22 October 2026. How we write and test these guides