PDF tool · 100% free

PDF to PDF/A

PDF/A is the archival standard that many institutions and courts require for long-term submissions. It embeds fonts and colour information so the document renders the same decades from now, on software that does not exist yet. It is free, needs no account, and adds no watermark to your result.

Built for: pdf to pdf/a

Deleted as soon as you download itFree · fair-use only

Drop PDF files herePDF output · up to 100 files

Included in this tool

PDF/A-2b conversionEmbedded color profileArchive-oriented outputBatch processing

When you need this

What people use it for.

Meeting a court, government or university requirement for PDF/A submissions

Archiving records that must remain readable long after the original software is gone

Fixing a rejected filing that failed a PDF/A compliance check

How it works

What happens to your file.

The document is reprocessed through a colour-managed Ghostscript pipeline targeting PDF/A-2b, which embeds the fonts used, normalises colour handling, and removes constructs the standard disallows.

Where it stops: Conversion can fail if a font cannot legally be embedded because of its licence. Some interactive features, such as embedded media, are not permitted in PDF/A and are dropped by design.

What this tool includes

Everything you need, without a paywall.

PDF/A-2b conversion

Embedded color profile

Archive-oriented output

Batch processing

Questions

Common questions.

What is the difference between PDF and PDF/A?

PDF/A is a restricted subset built for preservation. Everything needed to render the file, especially fonts, must be inside the document, and features that depend on external resources are not allowed.

Why does my file look slightly different afterwards?

Colour is converted through a managed profile and non-embeddable fonts are substituted, which can shift appearance slightly. That trade-off is what makes the file reproducible long-term.

Which PDF/A level is produced?

PDF/A-2b, the compliance level most commonly accepted for general archival submissions.

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