PDF to PDF/A
Convert to archival ISO 19005 PDF/A standard.
or click to browse — supports PDF files up to 100MB
How to use
- 1 Drop or click to upload your file
- 2 Adjust options if shown
- 3 Click Run Tool
- 4 Download your result instantly
- ✓ Files up to 1GB
- ✓ Unlimited jobs/hour
- ✓ Batch processing
- ✓ Priority support
Files are processed securely and permanently deleted within 1 hour. We never store, read, or share your documents.
Why this works
Convert a standard PDF to PDF/A \u2014 the ISO-standardised archival format required by many government, legal, and corporate document-retention policies. Three flavour options (PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b, PDF/A-3b).
PDF/A is the long-term archival flavour of PDF. The \u201cA\u201d stands for archival. Where standard PDF allows features that may not render reliably in 50 years \u2014 external font references, JavaScript, embedded video, encryption \u2014 PDF/A bakes everything self-contained into the file: every font fully embedded, no external references, no executable content, predictable rendering for the long term.
Many document-retention contexts require PDF/A. US Federal courts require PDF/A for many e-filings. EU government records mandate PDF/A under several archival directives. Corporate compliance (Sarbanes-Oxley, GDPR Article 6 for record retention) often specify PDF/A. Library and museum digitisation projects typically target PDF/A as the deposit format. If a workflow says \u201csubmit as PDF/A\u201d, this tool is the conversion step.
Three flavours are exposed. PDF/A-1b is the strictest and oldest \u2014 only features available in PDF 1.4 (the 2001 standard) are permitted. Maximum forward-compatibility, narrowest feature set. Use when the retention requirement explicitly says \u201cPDF/A-1\u201d. PDF/A-2b allows JPEG 2000 image compression, transparency, and PDF object compression, producing smaller files than A-1b for image-heavy documents. The current default for new archival workflows. PDF/A-3b is identical to A-2b but also permits embedded attachments (you can include the source Word document inside the PDF/A). Useful for compound archives.
The \u201cb\u201d in each flavour means \u201cbasic\u201d compliance \u2014 the file is visually faithful but doesn\u2019t enforce strict accessibility tagging. There\u2019s also a \u201cu\u201d variant (unicode-mapped text) and an \u201ca\u201d variant (full accessibility tagging) for retention contexts that require text-extraction reliability or screen-reader support. We expose the \u201cb\u201d variants here because they\u2019re the most-asked-for; if your workflow needs \u201cu\u201d or \u201ca\u201d compliance, contact us.
Conversion bakes all fonts into the file (substituting if originals weren\u2019t embedded), strips disallowed features (JavaScript, encryption, external resources), and validates the output against the chosen PDF/A flavour\u2019s spec. The resulting file is typically a few percent larger than the source because fonts and resources are now bundled.
How it works
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1Upload your PDFDrop the standard PDF you need in archival format into the upload box.
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2Pick the PDF/A flavourPDF/A-1b (strictest, max forward-compat), PDF/A-2b (modern default), or PDF/A-3b (allows embedded source attachments).
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3Run the conversionPress Convert. The job runs format validation and finishes in 5\u201310 seconds; longer for complex documents.
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4Download the archival PDFThe output validates against the chosen flavour\u2019s spec. Recipients with PDF/A-aware archival systems will accept it.
Real-world uses
Lawyers
E-filings to US Federal courts that mandate PDF/A.
Government archivists
Deposit records into long-term archival systems with PDF/A requirements.
Compliance teams
Sarbanes-Oxley, GDPR, and similar retention frameworks specify PDF/A.
Libraries
Digitisation projects target PDF/A as the standard deposit format.
Common questions
Which PDF/A flavour should I pick?
PDF/A-2b unless your specific retention requirement says otherwise. It\u2019s the modern default, allows efficient compression, and is broadly accepted. Pick PDF/A-1b only when an explicit \u201cPDF/A-1\u201d requirement applies. Pick PDF/A-3b when you need to embed source files (the original Word or Excel) inside the archive.
Will my file change visually?
No \u2014 PDF/A is visually identical to the source. The internal structure changes to comply with the spec (fonts embedded, external references removed) but the rendered output looks the same.
Why is the output a bit larger?
Fonts and resources that were referenced externally are now bundled inside the file \u2014 the source PDF may have relied on the reader having fonts installed locally; PDF/A bundles them. Typical increase: 5\u201320% depending on font and resource overhead.
Can I password-protect a PDF/A?
No \u2014 encryption violates the PDF/A spec. If you need protection plus archival, the workflow is: archive in PDF/A inside an encrypted container (a password-protected ZIP, an encrypted file system) rather than encrypting the PDF/A itself.
What happens to JavaScript or embedded video?
Stripped during conversion. PDF/A doesn\u2019t allow executable content or media. For documents that depend on those, keep a standard-PDF working copy and a PDF/A archive copy.
Will the output be searchable?
Yes if the source was searchable (born-digital PDFs or OCR\u2019d scans). PDF/A preserves text content and indexing. For OCR on a scanned source, run the OCR tool first, then convert the searchable output to PDF/A.