--- title: How to Make a PDF Expire (2026): After a Date or N Days After Purchase url: https://www.helprange.com/insight/2026/11/07/expire-pdf-access --- [Insight](https://www.helprange.com/insight/) # How to Make a PDF Expire (2026): After a Date or N Days After Purchase Updated 7 November 2026 · HelpRange **A PDF file cannot expire by itself.** Once someone has the file, it opens forever in any PDF reader – the "expiry" tricks that put JavaScript or a date check inside the PDF only work in readers that run that script, and most do not. To make a PDF stop opening after a date or after N days, the reader has to ask permission each time it opens the document: a DRM viewer that checks a licence, or an online link that you control. This guide explains which methods really expire, how to set access to end a fixed number of days after a purchase, and what to tell buyers or recipients. Updated 7 November 2026. Disclosure: HelpRange is our product. ## Ways to make a PDF expire – do they work? | Method | What actually happens | Really expires? | |---|---|---| | Date check in the PDF (JavaScript) | Acrobat may run the script and close the document; browsers, Preview and most mobile readers ignore it | No | | Expiring download link | The link stops working; the file already downloaded keeps opening | The link, not the file | | Cloud-drive link with expiry (Dropbox, OneDrive on supporting plans) | The shared link closes on the date; downloaded copies stay | Only if downloads are off | | DRM file with a licence (desktop DRM viewers) | The viewer checks the licence and refuses after the date | Yes, in the vendor's viewer | | Online view-only link with expiry | The document is read in the browser; after the date the link no longer opens it and no file was handed out | Yes | ## Expire on a fixed date (proposals, quotes, reports) 1. Upload the PDF to a document-sharing tool instead of attaching it. 2. Turn off download and print, so the only copy stays online. 3. Set an **expiry date** on the link – e.g. the validity date of the quote. 4. Optionally require the reader's e-mail with a one-time code and add a watermark with that e-mail. 5. Send the link. You see when it was opened and which pages were read; after the date it stops opening. In HelpRange this is the link’s **expiration date** setting, next to passcode, views limit and watermark. See also [restrict who can open a PDF](https://www.helprange.com/restrict-pdf-access). ## Expire N days after purchase (courses, e-books, memberships) For products, a fixed date does not work – every buyer starts on a different day. What you want is access that ends a set number of days after *each purchase: 1. Put the PDF in a HelpRange folder that buyers get access to. 2. In the folder's **Buyers** tab, set how many days each buyer keeps access (for example 30, 90 or 365). 3. Connect your checkout (Kajabi, Whop, Gumroad, Shopify, or Zapier for others) so every purchase gives access automatically. 4. Each buyer's access ends that many days after their purchase; a repeat purchase starts a new period. Refunds and cancellations take access away at once. For memberships it is usually simpler to follow the membership itself: Whop, for example, sends an event when a membership ends and access goes with it ([Whop PDF protection](https://www.helprange.com/whop-pdf-protection)). ## What to tell readers - State the access period on the sales page or in the e-mail ("read online for 90 days"). - Explain that it is read in the browser or app, not downloaded. - If printing matters (worksheets), offer those pages separately. ## FAQ ### Can I make a PDF expire after a certain date? Not the file itself in a reliable way. Share it through a DRM viewer or an online link with an expiry date and downloads switched off. ### How do I give buyers access for a limited time? Use per-buyer access with a number of days, so each purchase starts its own period, and connect it to your store so it is granted and ended automatically. ### Does PDF expiry work in Acrobat Reader? Script-based expiry may run in Acrobat, but anyone can open the same file in a browser or another reader that ignores the script. ### What happens when access ends? With an online link the document no longer opens for that reader; with HelpRange you can grant it again at any time. Related: [sell a PDF without download](https://www.helprange.com/insight/2026/11/07/sell-pdf-without-download/) · [copy-protect a PDF](https://www.helprange.com/blog/protect-pdf-from-copying) · [password-protect a link](https://www.helprange.com/insight/2024/07/13/password-protect-any-link/). ## More guides - [How to Sell a PDF Without Letting Buyers Download It (2026)](https://www.helprange.com/insight/2026/11/07/sell-pdf-without-download/) - [How to Password-Protect a PDF for Each Recipient (2026): Own Password per Person](https://www.helprange.com/insight/2026/11/07/per-recipient-pdf-password/)