PDF to PDF/A
Convert to archival ISO 19005 PDF/A standard.
or click to browse — supports PDF files up to 25MB
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How to use
- 1 Drop or click to upload your file
- 2 Adjust options if shown
- 3 Click PDF to PDF/A
- 4 Download your result instantly
- ✓ Files up to 1 GB
- ✓ Unlimited jobs/hour
- ✓ Batch processing (up to 100 files)
- ✓ Priority support
Files are processed securely and deleted within 1 hour. Files are processed automatically. No human reviews your documents, and PDFRun does not use them to train models.
Why this works
Convert a standard PDF to PDF/A — 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 “A” stands for archival. Where standard PDF allows features that may not render reliably in 50 years — external font references, JavaScript, embedded video, encryption — 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 “submit as PDF/A”, this tool is the conversion step.
Three flavours are exposed. PDF/A-1b is the strictest and oldest — 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 “PDF/A-1”. 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 “b” in each flavour means “basic” compliance — the file is visually faithful but doesn’t enforce strict accessibility tagging. There’s also a “u” variant (unicode-mapped text) and an “a” variant (full accessibility tagging) for retention contexts that require text-extraction reliability or screen-reader support. We expose the “b” variants here because they’re the most-asked-for; if your workflow needs “u” or “a” compliance, contact us.
Conversion bakes all fonts into the file (substituting if originals weren’t embedded), strips disallowed features (JavaScript, encryption, external resources), and validates the output against the chosen PDF/A flavour’s 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 well under a minute; longer for complex documents.
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4Download the archival PDFThe output validates against the chosen flavour’s 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’s the modern default, allows efficient compression, and is broadly accepted. Pick PDF/A-1b only when an explicit “PDF/A-1” 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 — 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 — the source PDF may have relied on the reader having fonts installed locally; PDF/A bundles them. Typical increase: 5–20% depending on font and resource overhead.
Can I password-protect a PDF/A?
No — 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’t 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’d 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.