Convert PDF To PDF/A

As digital document management continues to grow in importance, the need for standardized, long-term archivable formats like PDF/A becomes more essential than ever. Whether you’re preserving legal records, financial reports, academic documents, or any other form of content, converting standard PDFs to PDF/A ensures the file remains accessible and readable for decades to come.

Batch converting these files can save time and resources, especially when dealing with large volumes of data. And when combined with a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, this process becomes not only efficient but also accessible to non-technical users.

PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the PDF format designed specifically for digital preservation. Unlike standard PDFs, PDF/A is self-contained, meaning all the information needed to display the document in the same way—fonts, color profiles, images, and more—is embedded within the file. This ensures that the document can be reproduced exactly the same way in the future, regardless of the software used.

The primary reasons for converting PDFs to PDF/A are compliance, long-term accessibility, and digital preservation. Here are some practical use cases:

Legal and government archives: Many jurisdictions mandate the use of PDF/A for official document submissions.
Libraries and research institutions: PDF/A ensures long-term readability of academic and historical documents.
Healthcare and finance industries: PDF/A meets the archival needs of sectors with strict data retention regulations.

PDF/A isn’t a one-size-fits-all format. There are several variants, each tailored to different preservation needs. Understanding these helps you choose the right type for your archive.

PDF/A-1: Based on PDF 1.4; ensures maximum compatibility, but no support for transparency or layers.
PDF/A-2: Based on PDF 1.7; supports JPEG2000 compression, transparency, layers, and embedding of PDF/A files.
PDF/A-3: Allows embedding of non-PDF/A files (e.g., XML, CSV); ideal for hybrid documentation.
PDF/A-4: The latest version aligned with PDF 2.0; supports digital signatures and advanced accessibility.

Each variant includes levels a (accessible), b (basic visual), e (engineering documents) and f (file attachments) and u (unicode mapped).

Our tool allows you to select a specific PDF/A standard (PDF/A-1, -2, -3 or -4) and associated PDF/A conformance level (b, e, f or u). For most applications and where you are not constrained by a policy, we recommend picking PDF/A-2b.