Separate individual pages, a range of pages or
split your PDF document in a custom way.
Your files remain secure & private and are automatically deleted after 2 hours.
Short 3-step video guide
Guide
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the service is completely free. No registration is necessary, there are no hidden costs, and PDFs are created without watermarks.
Yes, your PDFs are processed exclusively for creating the final file. All data is encrypted during transfer, protected, and temporarily stored at the time of processing. If you do not immediately delete the PDF, the system automatically and permanently removes the documents after a maximum of 2 hours. No third-party access. No permanent storage. No account creation required. For more information, visit:ilovepdf.com/help/security
Yes. You can flexibly select anything: single pages, multiple pages, or entire page ranges (e.g., 1-6), even combined. The tool automatically splits your PDF and creates individual files. Perfect for large PDFs like reports, e-books, seminar materials, multiple invoices in one file, and more.
Here are the most common reasons based on daily user issues and technical limitations:
1. Damaged or corrupted PDF file
Most frequent cause for users: The PDF structure is damaged or corrupt.
Typical errors: missing objects, invalid syntax, broken xref table.
2. Incorrectly created or “merged” PDF
Some PDF software or online tools produce faulty or incomplete files that cannot be split.
3. PDF is password protected
If a document is password protected (opening or editing), it cannot be split until the protection is removed.
4. Unusually complex PDF structures
PDFs with rare object formats, nested layers, or special features can block splitting.
5. PDF consists only of images (scanned PDF)
Image-only PDFs can be split, but the file remains large and it often appears as if “nothing changed” because there are no real text objects.
6. Digital signatures or certificates
A signed PDF cannot be modified without invalidating the signature. When splitting, the signature is automatically “broken”.
7. Extremely large files (many pages, large images)
Very large PDFs can cause memory issues, timeouts, or interruptions during splitting or deleting.
Yes, even large PDFs can be split (limit 100 MB). If you encounter the limit with very large files, it is recommended to compress the file in advance (ilovepdf.com/pdf_compress) or remove unnecessary parts beforehand (ilovepdf.com/organize-pdf).
Another option is to share your PDFs offline, that is, not via the ilovepdf.com online service, but locally on your device. This option is available for Mac and Windows. ilovepdf.com/desktop
Provided you merge your PDF files in advance (ilovepdf.com/merge_pdf). Afterwards, you can split the file directly WITHOUT having to download it first. Just click on “Split PDF“.
You now have 2 options:
1. Split by page ranges: Split your PDF by specified page ranges.
2. Extract or delete individual pages: Select specific pages or multiple page ranges.
In the Premium version, a 3rd option is also available, namely splitting by PDF file size.
Splitting PDFs, also known as PDF split, PDF divide, PDF extract, PDF delete, PDF splitting, or PDF separating, describes breaking apart a PDF document into several separate files. It actually means the following:
– Extracting pages
– Deleting single or multiple pages
– Splitting PDF into single pages
– Separating documents
You can separate individual PDF pages, multiple ranges, or entire chapters, as well as by PDF size. Born-digital PDFs, scanned PDFs, and PDF/A files are supported.
The process is intentionally simple: upload PDF, select pages, split, and download. The processing and security meet international standards and work equally well on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Support
If you have further questions or issues, contact us directly here: ilovepdf.com/en/contact
Privacy & Security (DSGVO and GDPR)
- Processing of files solely for merging.
- No permanent storage – automatic deletion after 2 hours.
- No registration, no tracking, no sharing with third parties.
- GDPR compliant – optimized for DE/AT/CH.
- No watermarks and no ads in the document.