PDF Utilities

PDF to PDF/A

Convert standard PDF documents into ISO-compliant PDF/A archive documents. Adds necessary metadata structures completely locally in your browser.

Convert PDF to PDF/A

Standardize your PDF documents for long-term digital archiving locally in your browser.

Drag & drop your PDF here or browse

Supports single PDF files

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What is this tool?

PDF to PDF/A is a formatting tool that adapts standard PDF structures for archive compliance. By creating a custom XML-based metadata stream and attaching it to the catalog of the document, it marks the file as archive-ready for enterprise and government storage systems.

How to use it

1. Select and upload the PDF file you wish to convert.

2. Choose your compliance level (e.g., PDF/A-1b or PDF/A-2b).

3. Click "Convert to PDF/A".

4. Download the newly marked PDF/A compliant document.

Pro tips

  • PDF/A-1b is the most common standard and ensures basic visual conformance.
  • PDF/A-2b adds support for newer PDF features like layers, transparency, and JPEG2000 compression profiles.

Frequently asked questions

What is PDF/A?

PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the PDF format specialized for the digital preservation and long-term archiving of electronic documents. It guarantees that files can be opened and rendered exactly the same way regardless of future software updates.

How does client-side PDF/A conversion work?

This tool uses pdf-lib to load your document and injects an XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) metadata stream. This stream contains standard XML headers identifying the document as compliant with PDF/A specifications (e.g. PDF/A-1b or PDF/A-2b).

Does this tool embed fonts?

Yes, if fonts are already embedded in the original PDF, they are maintained. The conversion marks standard font tags, colorspace dictionaries, and catalog dictionaries as conformant to PDF/A standards.