How to scan documents on iPhone with Notes, Files or Preview

Apple's instructions for how to scan documents on iPhone start with the Notes app: open a note and tap the Attachments button, then tap Scan Documents. Hold the page in view and the iPhone captures it on its own. You can also scan from the Files app or, on recent versions of iOS, the Preview app.

Last updated November 7, 2026

The short version

Notes: open a note, tap the Attachments button, then tap Scan Documents. Apple says the scan is saved as a PDF in the note.
Files: tap the More button, tap Scan Documents, then choose where to save the scan.
Preview: tap Scan Documents on the start screen. Apple says Preview combines the pages into a single PDF.
The iPhone captures each page automatically when it detects the edges. You can switch to manual capture.
You can sign a scan with Markup and send it with the Share button.

Which app should you use?

All 3 apps scan with the iPhone camera and can capture pages automatically. The main difference is where the scan ends up and what you can do with it next.

App	Where the scan goes	Good for
Notes	Saved as a PDF inside a note	Receipts, notes and documents you want to find later by searching your notes
Files	A location and folder you choose	Filing scans in iCloud Drive or another folder and sending them as files
Preview	A single PDF you can save and edit	Forms you need to fill out and PDFs you want to export or compress

Apple's iPhone User Guide covers the Preview app for iOS 26 and iOS 27 only. On an older version of iOS, use Notes or Files. If you're not sure which version you have, our guide on how to update iPhone shows where to check, and our iOS 27.2 story covers the latest release we've reported on.

How to scan documents on iPhone with the Notes app

Notes is the method Apple describes first in its support article on scanning, and it keeps the scan next to anything else you write in the note.

Open the Notes app and open a note, or create a new one.
Tap the Attachments button, then tap Scan Documents.
Position the iPhone so the page appears on the screen. You can adjust settings such as Flash or Filters before you capture.
Keep the iPhone steady. It captures the document automatically when it detects the page boundaries. To make changes to a captured page, tap the thumbnail, tap an option such as Adjust, make your changes, then tap the Back button.
Scan any other pages, then tap the Done button.

To capture a page yourself instead, Apple's iOS 27 guide says to tap the Automatic document capture button, then tap the Take Picture button. Adjust the corners as needed, then tap Keep or Retake. Apple's support article adds that you can press one of the volume buttons to take the shot.

Apple says the finished document is saved as a PDF in the note. In an open note, you can also tap the More button and then tap Scan.

Scan text instead of a whole page

If you only need the words, the same Attachments menu has a Scan Text option. Point the camera at the text, drag or use the grab points to select it, then tap Insert. The text goes into the note as text you can edit. Apple says this works in supported languages.

Edit a scan in Notes

In the note with the scan, tap the Menu button to change the preview size or view it full screen with Quick Look. The same menu lets you copy, share, rename or delete the PDF. With the Medium or Large preview size, tap a page thumbnail and then the More button to rotate the page, apply a filter, crop it or insert a blank page. Apple says Filters and Crop Page work only on scanned documents.

How to scan documents to the Files app

Scanning from Files lets you choose where the scan is saved, so it can go in the same folder as the rest of your documents.

Open the Files app.
Tap the More button, then tap Scan Documents.
Place the document in view of the camera. The iPhone scans it automatically in Auto mode. To capture manually, tap the Shutter button or press one of the volume buttons, then drag the corners to fit the page and tap Keep Scan.
Add more pages or tap Done.
Choose a location, then tap Save.

How to scan documents to PDF with Preview

Apple describes Preview as the app for filling out and signing PDF forms, scanning documents and making changes to PDFs and images. A scan here becomes a PDF straight away.

Open the Preview app and tap Scan Documents.
Position the camera so the document appears on the screen. The iPhone captures the page automatically.
To capture the page yourself, tap Auto so the label changes to Manual, then tap the Shutter button.
Repeat for each page.
Tap the thumbnails to crop, rotate or adjust the coloring of a page.
Tap the Done button.

Apple says Preview combines the pages into a single PDF that you can save and edit. To rename or move it, tap the Actions Menu button next to the filename and choose Rename or Move.

Make a scan smaller or searchable

Preview can export a PDF with extra options. Open the PDF, tap the Actions Menu button next to the filename, tap Export and choose PDF. Then turn on any of these:

Embed Text: runs text recognition (OCR) so the PDF becomes searchable.
Optimize Images for Screen: lowers the image resolution for a smaller file.
Save Images as JPEG: stores the images inside the PDF as JPEG for a smaller file.

Tap Done, choose a location, then tap Save. Preview can also export to HEIC, JPEG, PNG and TIFF if someone needs an image instead of a PDF.

How to sign a scanned document on iPhone

In Notes, Apple's steps are:

Open the note and tap the scanned document.
Tap the Markup button.
Tap the Add button and tap Signature, then pick a saved signature or create a new one.
Resize the signature box and drag it into place, then tap Done.

You can also sign by hand: after tapping Markup, pick a drawing tool and sign with your finger. The iPhone saves signatures you create so you can reuse them, and you can store more than one, such as your initials.

In Preview, open the PDF and tap the Form Filling button to type into a form's fields. To add a signature or a text box, tap the Add button.

How to send a scanned document by email or message

From Notes: tap the Menu button on the scan, choose Share, then pick how to send it.
From Files: touch and hold the file, tap Share, choose an option such as AirDrop, Messages or Mail, then tap Send. Apple suggests tapping Compress first if you want to send a smaller ZIP file.
From Preview: open the PDF and tap the Share button.

Watch out: exporting the whole note as a PDF isn't the same as sharing the scan. Apple says that when you export a note as a PDF, a multipage scanned document in it comes through as its first page only. Share the scanned PDF itself to send every page.

Scan straight to a Mac with Continuity Camera

If the document needs to end up on a Mac, you can scan it straight to the Mac with Continuity Camera. On the Mac, Control-click where you want the scan, such as a note, an email or a Finder folder, and choose the scan option (you may need to click "Insert from iPhone or iPad" first). Scan the pages on the iPhone, tap Keep Scan, then tap Save. The scan appears on the Mac.

Apple's requirements include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on for both devices, the same Apple Account on both and the devices within 30 feet (10 meters) of each other. Apple notes that these scans aren't saved on the iPhone.

Frequently asked questions

Can iPhone scan documents for free?

Yes. The scanner is part of Apple's own Notes, Files and Preview apps, and Apple's instructions don't call for any other app.

Where do scanned documents go on iPhone?

It depends on the app. Notes saves the scan as a PDF inside the note you scanned into. Files saves it to the location you choose. Preview creates a PDF that you can save, rename or move. Scans made with Continuity Camera go to the Mac and aren't saved on the iPhone.

How do I scan documents on iPhone 17, 16 or older models?

Apple's iOS 27 guide gives a single set of Notes steps, and it lists iOS 27 support for iPhone 11 and later and for iPhone SE (2nd generation) and later. For iOS 17 and earlier, Apple's support article links to separate instructions.

How do I scan documents on iPhone to PDF?

Notes and Preview both produce PDFs. Apple says a Notes scan is saved as a PDF in the note, and Preview combines the pages into a single PDF. In Preview you can also turn on Embed Text when exporting to make the PDF searchable.

Can I copy text from a scanned document?

Use Scan Text in Notes to insert the words as editable text. For a photo of a document opened in Preview, Apple says Live Text lets you select the text in the image and copy, translate or look it up.