For Paralegals
Compress a PDF to 2MB for E-Filing
Many court e-filing systems and document portals cap individual PDFs at 2MB per file. That is a comfortable target compared with the sub-megabyte limits some job portals impose: for a text-heavy filing with a few scanned exhibits, the Medium preset (200 DPI, 0.82 JPEG quality) usually gets under 2MB while keeping body text and exhibit detail readable, which matters when the document has to survive review by a clerk and opposing counsel.
Where 2MB gets difficult is a filing that is mostly scanned pages — a stack of exhibits, a records production, a signed agreement captured as images. Those have little text to shed and a high image floor. Stepping to High (150 DPI, 0.70) or Maximum (96 DPI, 0.50) will shrink them further, but check small print and handwritten notations at full zoom before you file, because aggressive compression softens exactly the fine detail a court cares about.
If a single filing will not fit under 2MB without degrading it, the standard move is to split it: most e-filing rules let you file a long document as separate parts. Use PDF Splitter to break it at natural boundaries and file each part within the limit, rather than compressing the whole thing until the exhibits are hard to read.
How to handle this workflow
Launch the PDF Compressor and load your document. No account creation or software installation is required.
Select your preferred settings. Core processing runs on your device, keeping your documents confidential and private.
Inspect the output to confirm page quality and formatting, then save your updated PDF directly to your device.
Should I compress or split a court filing that is over 2MB?
Split it if compression would make exhibits or small print hard to read. Most e-filing systems accept a long document filed as separate parts, each under the limit. Use compression (Medium first) when the file is only slightly over and mostly text; use a splitter when it is large and image-heavy.