PDF to PDF/A

How do I convert a PDF to PDF/A?

Press Choose a PDF. The tool checks the file and lists its fonts, scripts, attachments and comments, with what will change. Pick PDF/A-2b unless you were asked for another level, then press Convert to PDF/A. Read the list of changes and press Download. The original file is not changed.

1. Press Choose a PDF and read the check.
2. Pick a level: PDF/A-2b unless your archive or court asks for 1b or 3b.
3. Press Convert to PDF/A.
4. Read what changed, then press Download.

Which PDF/A level should I choose?

Choose PDF/A-2b unless someone asks for another level. It allows transparency and layers, so more files convert cleanly. Choose PDF/A-1b only when a system requires it, because it forbids transparency. Choose PDF/A-3b when you need to keep attached files, such as the data behind an invoice; 2b removes attachments that are not PDF/A.

The "b" means the pages look the same in the future; the stricter "a" levels also need the document's reading order and structure tagged, which this tool does not add. The Library of Congress describes each level in its format pages listed below.

Does the converted file really pass as PDF/A?

For our test files, yes. We converted 17 files to each level with this tool's own code and checked every result with veraPDF 1.30.3, the open-source validator. All passed PDF/A-2b and 3b. At PDF/A-1b, 15 passed, and the tool had warned before converting about each one that failed.

A file outside our tests can still hit a rule we have not met. If an archive rejects a file from this tool, the rule number in its report tells us what to fix; write to us from the contact page.

What happens to fonts that are not embedded?

PDF/A needs every font inside the file. Many PDFs only name Helvetica, Times, Courier, Arial or Calibri and let the reader supply it. The tool embeds a free font with the same letter widths instead: Liberation Sans, Serif or Mono, Carlito or Caladea. Other missing fonts get a similar free font, and the tool warns that their text can shift.

Fonts that are already embedded are kept as they are. Symbol fonts and some Asian fonts have no free stand-in; for those the tool suggests turning the pages into pictures.

What does converting to PDF/A remove?

Scripts, actions that launch files or play sounds, and sound, video and 3D content, which PDF/A forbids. Attached files go unless you choose PDF/A-3b. Hidden comments are made visible and printable, form fields get a drawn look, and image smoothing flags are turned off. Text, pictures, links to web pages and bookmarks stay.

A digital signature stops being valid after conversion, because the file changes. Convert first, then sign with Digital Signature PDF. To see what else the file says about itself, open it in Remove PDF Metadata.