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Compress PDF for Court Filing

You are minutes from a filing deadline and the e-filing portal rejects your exhibit package: "file exceeds 25MB limit." Sound familiar? Court electronic filing systems — whether state, federal, or appellate — almost universally impose strict size caps, and legal documents with scanned evidence frequently exceed them.

The standard advice is to use Adobe Acrobat Pro or upload to a compression website. But consider what you are compressing: case briefs, client privileged communications, exhibit binders with witness photos, financial discovery documents. Uploading these to a third-party server raises serious ethical obligations around client confidentiality under Model Rule 1.6.

KuroPDF eliminates that risk entirely. Compression runs in your browser via WebAssembly — your case files never leave your workstation. The engine targets your specified size by intelligently recompressing scanned exhibit images while leaving text and vector graphics untouched. Exhibit labels, Bates numbers, and redaction marks remain perfectly sharp.

Set your target to match your court system (typically 10-25MB per filing), compress, and file with confidence. Your client documents stayed local the entire time.

Compress for filing →
  • Files never leave your device
  • No size limits
  • Free, no sign-up

How to compress pdf for court filing

  1. 1
    Load the filing document

    Drop your PDF brief, exhibit package, or appendix into the tool. The document is parsed locally and never transmitted anywhere.

  2. 2
    Enter the court size limit

    Check your court system limit (e.g., CM/ECF federal courts: 25MB per document, many state courts: 10MB). Enter that as your target.

  3. 3
    Compress and verify

    The engine compresses embedded images while preserving text fidelity. Verify Bates numbers, exhibit labels, and text remain legible. Download and file.

Frequently asked questions

Is this secure enough for privileged attorney-client documents?

Everything runs locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Because no data is uploaded to a cloud server, your files remain strictly private, and the entire process generates zero server carbon emissions, making it highly eco-friendly.

Will Bates numbers and exhibit stamps remain legible?

Yes. The compression engine only targets embedded raster images (scans, photos). Text overlays, vector stamps, and Bates numbering remain pixel-perfect because they are preserved as vector data.

What size limits do courts typically impose?

Federal courts (CM/ECF): 25MB per document, 50MB total. Most state courts: 10-25MB per filing. Appellate courts vary but typically 25-50MB. Always verify with your specific court clerk.

Will this affect PDF/A compliance?

If your source document is PDF/A (as required by some courts), the compressed output maintains the same structure. However, image recompression changes embedded image data, which may technically break strict PDF/A validation. For archival-critical filings, test the output with a PDF/A validator.

Can I compress multiple exhibit PDFs at once?

Process one document at a time. For multi-document filings, compress each exhibit package separately to ensure each stays under the per-document limit.

The real difference

Why KuroPDF exists

Every other PDF tool uploads your files to their servers. We think that is broken. Here is what we do differently - and what the alternatives actually cost you.

Nothing leaves your device

Files are processed in your browser using WebAssembly. Open DevTools → Network tab and verify: zero upload requests. Ever.

What competitors do instead:

Smallpdf, iLovePDF, and Adobe Acrobat all upload your files to their servers - your contracts, bank statements, and medical records pass through third-party infrastructure.

No file size limits, no daily caps

Process a 500-page PDF or batch-convert 200 photos. No cap, no throttle, no upgrade wall. Your device is the only limit.

What competitors do instead:

Smallpdf limits free users to 2 tasks per day. iLovePDF caps file sizes at 100MB. Adobe requires a $19.99/mo subscription for basic features.

Works completely offline

Install KuroPDF as a progressive web app. After the first visit, every tool works with zero internet - on a plane, in a bunker, wherever.

What competitors do instead:

Every cloud-based PDF tool stops working the moment your Wi-Fi drops. No connection = no work.

Real encryption, not security theatre

Password protection uses AES-256 encryption via a WebAssembly build of qpdf. The password never leaves your machine - there is no server to intercept it.

What competitors do instead:

When you 'protect' a PDF on Smallpdf or iLovePDF, your unencrypted file and password travel to their server, get processed, then get sent back. That is not security.

Free forever, no account needed

No login wall, no email harvesting, no 'continue with Google' popup. Open the site, use the tool, close the tab. Done.

What competitors do instead:

Adobe charges $239/yr. Smallpdf charges $108/yr. iLovePDF charges $84/yr. All require account creation to use basic tools.

Professional-grade codecs

MozJPEG for JPEG, OxiPNG for PNG, AVIF and WebP encoders - the same codecs used by Google and Mozilla. Not generic re-encoding.

What competitors do instead:

Most cloud tools use basic server-side encoders with less optimization control. You get worse compression at lower quality.

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