Re: Trying to combine PDF files results in password protected message

Hello @emmanuel_9301

I hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out.

++Adding to what our community product expert has already shared, if you are the owner of the PDF files and have created them from other file formats, and are trying to combine them using Acrobat, please ensure you have the latest version of Acrobat installed on the machine: 25.001.20918 Planned update, Nov 13, 2025. Check for any pending updates by navigating to Menu > Help> Check for Updates. Install the updates, restart the app and the machine, and try again.

If you have a different issue, please share more details, a screenshot of the error message, the OS version, so that we can help you in getting the issue fixed.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

@emmanuel_9301 unless you know the password to unlock the locked PDFs, you can't combine PDF files results in password protected message. The creator applied a document password (to restrict viewing) or a permissions password (to restrict editing, printing, or copying) for whatever reason. 

There are free online tools, but if you are worried about security, then I would just ask the person who created the folder for th password; Personally, I would NOT use the free online tool because there might be sensitive information you do not want people to know