About PDF to PDF/A
PDF/A is a version of PDF designed to last. A normal PDF can depend on things outside itself: a font installed on the author’s machine, a colour profile assumed by the viewer, a link to an external file. PDF/A forbids that. Everything the document needs to look the same in thirty years has to be inside it.
This tool converts an ordinary PDF into PDF/A, embedding fonts, pinning colours to a profile that travels with the file, and removing dependence on anything outside it. This conversion runs on our conversion service rather than in your browser, because an office suite cannot run in a web page. The file is uploaded, converted and deleted as soon as the answer has been sent back. It is free, and there is no account.
How to convert a PDF to PDF/A
- Choose the PDF.
- Under "Standard", choose PDF/A-2, which is selected, or PDF/A-1. PDF/A-2 is the newer and more capable; choose PDF/A-1 only if a system or an authority specifically asks for it.
- Press the convert button. The file is uploaded to the conversion service, converted and returned.
- Look at the preview to confirm that the pages look as they did.
- Save the file. If you are required to prove conformance, check it with a validator before you submit it, since this tool converts but does not issue a certificate.
When you would use it
- Submitting documents to courts, registries and public bodies that require PDF/A.
- Preserving records, contracts and reports for the long term.
- Meeting an archive or records-management policy in an organisation.
- Making sure a document with unusual fonts will still look right in years to come.
- Preparing files for a digital repository or a library.
What it will not do
- PDF/A forbids some features, so conversion may remove or flatten things such as audio, video, scripts and some forms of encryption and transparency.
- It is not a validator. It converts and aims to conform, but if a regulator will check conformance, test the result with a validator.
- The file will usually be somewhat larger than the original because fonts and colour profiles are embedded.
- Files over about 50 megabytes are refused, and no more than a couple of conversions can run for you at once.
- A password-protected file cannot be archived in this form. PDF/A does not allow encryption, so unlock it first with Unlock PDF.
How it compares
Some word processors and PDF editors can export directly to PDF/A, which is best when you still have the source. This tool is for existing PDFs that now need to be archival, without going back to the source.
It differs from an ordinary compressed or protected PDF in intent: those make a file smaller or restricted, and PDF/A makes it self-contained and durable.
Tips
- Pick PDF/A-2 unless told otherwise. It supports more of what modern documents contain.
- Keep a copy of the original. Conversion can change some details to meet the standard.
- Ask whoever requires PDF/A which part and level they mean before you convert. If they do not say, PDF/A-2 is the usual answer. Convert a copy rather than your only file, and open the result to check that the pages look as they did before you submit it.