An image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a first reading unit that reads an image on a front side of a document being transferred along a transfer path; a second reading unit that reads an image on a rear side of the document; a reversing unit arranged downstream of the first and the second reading units that turns the document over and place it on the transfer path; and a controller that causes, when a error is detected in the first or second reading units, the reversing unit to turn the document over and place it on the transfer path, so that a reading unit in which the error is not detected reads the image on the side to be read by the reading unit in which the error is detected.