PDF to PDF/A
Make an archive-ready PDF/A: PDF/A-1b, 2b, 2u, 3b or 4.
Use PDF to PDF/A
How to use PDF to PDF/A
- 01
Drop in your PDF
Add the PDF. It is opened inside your browser — the document never leaves your device.
- 02
Choose the standard
PDF/A-2b is the usual choice. Pick 1b if a portal asks for it, 3b to keep attachments, 4 for the newest.
- 03
Download the PDF/A
The result lists what was changed to make the file conform, so nothing is altered without you knowing.
Tested and last verified on
About PDF to PDF/A
Convert a PDF to PDF/A in your browser, the format courts, tax portals, banks and archives ask for. Choose PDF/A-1b, 2b, 2u, 3b or 4. Fonts are embedded, scripts and launch actions are removed, colours are defined and the identification metadata is written; the result tells you everything that was changed. Nothing is uploaded.
An archive-ready PDF without handing it to a server
Most online PDF/A converters upload your document, convert it on their server and send it back. That is a strange trade for the documents that need PDF/A most: legal filings, financial statements, identity records. Here the conversion happens inside your browser tab, so the file stays where it is.
PDF/A is a restriction, not a new kind of file. A conforming PDF contains everything needed to show it: every font program, a described colour space, and metadata identifying the standard, and it contains nothing that depends on the machine or can run code. Turning an ordinary PDF into one means finding what falls short and fixing exactly that.
What gets changed
Fonts named but not included (Helvetica, Times, Arial and the like) get an embedded look-alike with the same character widths. Scripts, launch actions and other banned actions are removed. A colour profile is declared so that device colours, including CMYK, mean one thing everywhere. Annotations that carried only data are given an appearance. Identification metadata is written into the file in the form the standard requires and matched to the document's title, author and dates. Invisible text from OCR is kept, so a scanned document stays searchable.
Some features do not survive, and the result screen says so each time: digital signatures, attachments (except under PDF/A-3), layers (under PDF/A-1) and transparency (under PDF/A-1, where affected pages become pictures). A file saved as PDF/A-2u or 3u that has fonts with no way to say what their characters mean is saved as the matching B level instead, and the notes say that too.
How it was checked
Every standard offered was run against veraPDF on real documents of the kinds people actually convert — including a 686-page CMYK law book, scanned and OCR'd annual reports, Word and PowerPoint exports, forms, annotated and attachment-carrying files — and the converter was changed until they passed. The colour profiles it writes were checked against a second, independent colour engine. That is evidence the approach works, not a certificate for your particular file; for anything that matters, validate the result with veraPDF before you submit it.
Questions
Everything runs in your browser. How we keep files private
What is PDF/A, and who asks for it?
PDF/A is the ISO standard for PDFs meant to be opened unchanged decades from now. It forbids anything a future viewer might not have or might not trust: fonts that are only named rather than included, scripts, links that launch programs, undefined colours. Courts and tribunals, tax and company-registry portals, banks, land records, universities and archives ask for it, often as "PDF/A-1b" or "PDF/A-2b".
Which standard should I choose?
PDF/A-2b unless a portal says otherwise: it is the most widely accepted and keeps transparency and layers. Choose PDF/A-1b only when it is named explicitly; it is stricter, so a page that uses transparency becomes a picture of itself. PDF/A-2u adds a Unicode meaning for every character. PDF/A-3b allows files attached to the PDF, as in e-invoices. PDF/A-4 is the newest, based on PDF 2.0, and not every portal accepts it yet.
Will my PDF look the same?
Yes, with the exceptions the result screen lists. Fonts that were not embedded are replaced by look-alikes with the same character widths, so lines do not move but letter shapes may differ slightly. Under PDF/A-1b, pages that use transparency are replaced by a picture of the page, which looks identical but whose text can no longer be selected. Every other page is unchanged.
Is the result really valid PDF/A?
It is built to the standard's rules and tested against veraPDF, the open-source reference validator, on a set of real documents (scanned, text, CMYK print, Word and PowerPoint exports, forms, annotated and signed files) for every standard offered. A browser cannot run that validator, so this tool cannot certify an individual file. For a legal filing or a strict portal, check the result with veraPDF, which is free and runs on your own computer.
What happens to a digitally signed PDF?
The signature is removed and the signature field is kept, empty, with a note. Converting rewrites the file, so the signature could no longer verify, and PDF/A does not allow a signature that doesn't.
Why is there no PDF/A-1a, 2a or 3a?
Level A means the PDF is fully tagged for accessibility, with a correct structure of headings, lists, tables and reading order. That structure cannot be produced from an arbitrary PDF without getting it wrong, and a wrong structure is worse for a screen reader than none. The B and U levels cover what portals normally ask for.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser. A contract, a court filing or a tax document never leaves your device.
Part of: Getting a document accepted by a portal
Combine, shrink, straighten and convert until the upload goes through.
- Combine several documents into a single fileMix PDFs, photographs and Word files into one document in the exact order you want.
- Reduce a document below an upload limitShrinks the file while verifying the result is still readable, and tells you the size it achieved.
- Make a scanned document searchableAdds a real text layer behind the image so the content can be searched, copied and accepted.