Free ATS CV checker: test your CV or resume, no sign-up
CitedCV's ATS CV checker is free and needs no account: drop a PDF, DOCX or TXT on this page and it flags the structure, layout and wording problems parsers trip on. It runs in your browser.1
Written 3 October 2026, updated 22 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
Check your CV for ATS problems, no account needed
Drop a PDF, DOCX or text file, or paste the text. You get a score, the problems a parser trips on, and your CV as a parser files it.
Runs in your browser. The file and its text never leave this device.
Free ATS-friendly CV checker: the short answer
Yes, and you can use it at the top of this page without an account. CitedCV's CV checker reads a CV you already have and reports what an applicant tracking system would trip on. It runs in your browser, so the file and its text never leave your device; it calls no language model and costs nothing. Signed in, the same audit (Audit in the app menu, citedcv.com/en/app/audit) also lets you save a rewritten line to your facts.
What an ATS-friendly CV checker is
ATS stands for applicant tracking system: the software an employer uses to receive and search applications, such as Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, Taleo, SAP SuccessFactors or iCIMS. In text messages it means 'at the same time'. The document is a CV in the UK, Europe and Turkey and a résumé in the US; the checker reads either. It reads your file as a parser does, as plain text in reading order, and shows what is lost or misfiled.
It is an approximation: Workday's documentation says parsing results vary with format and word order, so no outside checker can promise what one employer's system will show.
What to do in the first minute, and what it costs
Drop a PDF, DOCX or TXT of up to 5 MB into the box at the top of this page, or paste at least 40 characters. The score, the problems and the parser view appear underneath. No account, card or credits. To rewrite the flagged lines and keep them, create an account with an email and password; it starts with 6 free credits and asks for no card.
| Action | Cost | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Check a CV on this page, file or pasted text | Free, 0 credits | Nothing, no account |
| The same audit, signed in | Free, 0 credits | An account |
| Save your rewrite of a flagged line to your facts | Free | An account |
| Build a CV from your facts | 6 credits quick, 10 full | Credits |
| Match a CV to a job posting | 1 credit | Any credit pack; Starter is $9 for 30 credits, paid once |
'Free' means 0 credits and no card, not the whole product. Costs are from the pricing page on 2026-10-03, in US dollars.
How the audit works
- Your browser reads the file: a PDF with pdf.js, a DOCX with mammoth plus a count of text boxes, tables, columns and header text, a TXT as it is. A scan or a password-protected PDF is refused with a reason.
- On this page the rules run in your browser as well, so nothing is sent: the file and its text stay on your device. Signed in, only the extracted text and a few layout signals go to the server, and the audit screen says nothing is stored.
- Fixed rules run, with no language model, so the same text gets the same findings. The language is worked out as English, Turkish or German.
- You get a score out of 100 in four parts, the problems with the document, and the lines worth rewriting. Signed in, each line comes with the question that would fix it, and saving your own rewrite to your facts is free.
The parser view
The last panel shows your CV with formatting stripped and each line filed under a section such as Header, Summary, Experience or Skills. A line filed wrongly there is likely filed wrongly by a parser. It is CitedCV's own sectioning, not Workday's or Greenhouse's.
What the audit flags
Length, heading, date and wording checks line up with Prospects (two A4 pages at most), the National Careers Service (one style, headings, bullets), and Harvard and MIT career services (specific, quantified lines). Findings show as Fix, Check or Note; thresholds are CitedCV's own.
| Check | Triggers when | Shown as |
|---|---|---|
| Contact | No email, or no phone number | Fix, Note |
| Headings | None found, or fewer than 2 match names parsers use | Fix, Check |
| Dates | None recognised, or two month formats mixed | Fix, Check |
| Length | Over 2 pages at about 500 words a page; under 180 words (under 60 is an error) | Check, Fix |
| Numbers | Four or more claim lines and under 20% carry a number | Check |
| Layout in a PDF | More than one column; a picture page; skill bars (12 or more filled shapes, no levels in words) | Check, Fix, Note |
| Layout in Word | More than one column; text boxes; over 50% of the text in tables; over 20 characters in a header or footer | Check |
| Wording | Buzzwords like 'results-driven', first person, 'responsible for', bullets with no number, name or tool, bullets over 260 characters, over 6 bullets per role | Fix, Check |
What the score means
The score is out of 100 and, in CitedCV's code on 2026-10-05, combines four parts. Language counts 40%: the wording rules your bullets trip. Structure counts 20%: 25 points lost per heading or date problem. Contact counts 10%: email and phone. Evidence counts 30%: the share of claim lines with a number, where half is full marks. 75 or more reads as strong, 50 to 74 workable, below 50 weak.
Layout findings are reported but do not change the number. The weights are CitedCV's own, not an industry standard, and no accuracy figure against any employer's parser or interview rates is published. Use the score to find problems, not to predict results.
What Workday, Greenhouse and Lever say about parsing
From the vendors' own help pages, listed under Sources. Taleo, SAP SuccessFactors and iCIMS documentation was not used.
| System | What its documentation says |
|---|---|
| Greenhouse | Cannot process resumes over 2.5 MB. A parse can fail on columns, graphics, photos, image uploads, and complex tables, headers or footers; the recruiter then types the details in. |
| Lever | Parses Word, PDF, RTF and other text formats, not image files such as JPG or PNG. Test: if you cannot highlight text with your cursor, it is likely not parseable. |
| Workday | Results vary with format and word order. Recommends resumes without images; does not auto-fill Languages or Skills. |
A failed parse leaves empty fields, not a rejection
Greenhouse and Lever describe a failed parse as a profile with missing fields completed by hand; neither describes a rejection. A CV nobody can search is still hard to find, though. None of the three pages describes detecting AI-written text.
Other ATS CV checkers, and whom each fits
From CitedCV's comparison pages, which read each tool's public pages on 2026-09-08. Check current terms.
| Tool | What its pages describe | Fits you if |
|---|---|---|
| Enhancv | Resume checker with 27 checks on content, layout, grammar and keywords, and a posting score; free plan is seven days | You want wording, layout and posting match together |
| Kickresume | ATS resume checker, listed with the paid plans | You already pay for its templates |
| Rezi | Rezi Score on 23 metrics, keyword targeting against a posting; limited free plan | You are rebuilding a resume |
| Teal | Match score and analysis against a posting; free tier with a small allowance of AI credits | You track applications in it |
| RecastCV | Live ATS match score per tailored CV; free ATS checker | You tailor one master CV per posting |
| CitedCV audit | Rule-based check of a CV you have; no credits, model or posting | You want findings you can check by hand |
Doing it by hand, with no tool
Try to select a line of text in the PDF; if you cannot, it is likely a picture, which Lever says cannot be parsed. Then paste all the text into a plain text editor and read from the top: contact details first, sections in order, each job with employer, title and dates together. A missing summary suggests a skipped text box. It takes two minutes and gives no score.
If you want a score against a job posting
The audit does not read postings. CitedCV's job match does, at 1 credit per match once you have bought any credit pack.
Who this checker is not for
- You need to know how one named employer's system reads your CV. An outside checker, CitedCV's included, can only approximate the parser of Workday, Taleo or SuccessFactors; ask the employer.
- You want a score against one job posting. The audit does not read postings; use a tool from the table or CitedCV's job match.
- Your CV is a picture. No checker can read it, and neither can Lever; save it with selectable text and use the by-hand test.
Limits, stated plainly
- It is CitedCV's own rule set; it does not run the parser of Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, Taleo, SuccessFactors or iCIMS.
- It reads text plus a few layout signals: columns, scans and filled shapes in a PDF; text boxes, tables, columns and header text in Word. TXT and pasted text carry no layout.
- It does not check fonts, icons or photos, or whether your facts are true.
- No CV tool can promise an interview, and a high score does not predict one. Greenhouse, Lever and Workday describe parsing, not detection of AI-written text.
Questions people ask
Is there a free ATS-friendly CV checker?
Yes, and it needs no account. The checker at the top of this page runs in your browser, costs no credits and calls no model; it reads PDF, DOCX or TXT files up to 5 MB, or pasted text.
Is my CV stored when I use the checker?
No. On this page the file is read and checked in your browser, so neither the file nor its text leaves your device. Signed in, only the extracted text goes to the server and nothing is stored unless you save a rewritten line.
Does a high score mean my CV will pass an ATS?
No. The score reflects CitedCV's own rules, not any employer's system, and no tool can promise an interview.
Can the checker tell whether my CV looks AI-written?
No. It flags stock phrases such as 'results-driven' because recruiters skip them, not to detect AI. No vendor page cited here describes AI detection.
Which is better to check, a PDF or a DOCX?
Either, up to 5 MB. Word files get text box, table and header checks; PDFs get column and scan checks. Send the format the employer asks for.
Why does the checker refuse my PDF?
Because it has no selectable text or is password-protected. Lever says image files cannot be parsed. Save it again as a PDF, not an image, or upload the DOCX.
Is an ATS resume checker the same as an ATS CV checker?
Yes. Resume is the US word for the same document, and this checker reads either; only the US academic CV, which runs to many pages, is a different document.
How do I test my CV against an applicant tracking system?
Run it through the checker at the top of this page and read the parser view. No outside tool runs an employer's own parser, so the closest real test is the employer's form: where it fills fields from your upload, compare them with your CV.
Does the audit compare my CV with a job description?
No. Matching a CV to a posting is a separate feature that opens with any credit pack, at 1 credit per match.
Sources
- Greenhouse Support, Unsuccessful resume parsesupport.greenhouse.io/hc/en-us/articles/200989175-Unsuccessful-resume-parse
- Lever Help Center, Understanding resume parsinghelp.lever.co/s/article/Understanding-Resume-Parsing
- Workday documentation, Concept: Resume parsingdoc.workday.com/admin-guide/en-us/human-capital-management/recruiting/candidates/set-up-prospects-and-candidates/hdc1552497830785.html
- Prospects, How to write a CVwww.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv
- National Careers Service, How to write a CVnationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/cv-sections
- Harvard Office of Career Services, Create a strong resumecareerservices.fas.harvard.edu/resources/create-a-strong-resume/
- MIT Career Advising and Professional Development, Career toolkit: crafting an effective resumecapd.mit.edu/resources/career-toolkit-crafting-an-effective-resume/