How to Scan a Document to PDF on Android

You need a paper document as a PDF and there is no scanner nearby. The Google Drive app on any Android phone scans, straightens, and saves multi-page PDFs at no cost.

Open the scanner in Google Drive

Open Google Drive, tap the + button in the bottom right, and tap Scan. Allow camera access if asked. The camera opens with a document frame.

Capture the page and adjust the corners

Lay the page flat, fill the frame, and tap the shutter button. If Drive offers Auto capture, hold the phone steady and it takes the photo on its own. On the next screen, drag the corner handles until they sit on the page edges, then tap the check mark. Use the crop, rotate, and filter buttons along the bottom to fix a skewed or dark page.

Add the remaining pages

Tap the + button (Add page) to capture the next page, and repeat for every page. Tap a page thumbnail to retake or delete it. The pages become one PDF in the order captured.

Save the PDF

Tap Done (or Save). Enter a file name, pick the Drive folder, and tap Save. Drive uploads the file as a PDF, and it also shows in the app's Recent list.

Share or download the file

In Drive, tap the three-dot menu next to the PDF. Tap Share to send a link or add people, Send a copy to attach it in an email or messaging app, or Download to keep a copy in the phone's Downloads folder.

Use the camera or Files app instead

Newer versions of Files by Google have a Scan button on the home screen that works the same way and saves the PDF to the phone. On Samsung phones, open Camera, point it at the page, and tap the Scan button that appears when a document is detected (turn on Scan documents and text in the camera settings if it does not). The result saves as an image in Gallery, which you can share to Drive or print to PDF.

If the scan looks gray or blotchy. Use bright, even light, put the page on a dark surface so the edges are found, and tap the settings icon in the scanner to switch between Color, Grayscale, and Black and white.

If the text is hard to read. Retake the page from directly above rather than at an angle, and hold the phone still for a moment before the shutter.