PDF to PDF/A
PDF/A is the archival PDF: everything it needs travels inside it. The conversion happens in your browser, and the file is never uploaded.
What comes out is written to the PDF/A-2B rules. Whether a given archive accepts it is decided by their validator, not by this page.
How to convert a PDF to PDF/A
- Choose the PDF.
- Read what it says about the fonts: either the pages are kept, or they have to be redrawn.
- Press the button and the converted file downloads.
What PDF/A actually is
The same PDF, with rules that make it readable in twenty years: every font travels inside the file, the colours say what they mean through an embedded colour profile, and nothing may depend on the outside world — no JavaScript, no linked files, no encryption. That is why public bodies ask for it when you file something and why archives ask for it when they keep it.
Why some files keep their text and others do not
A PDF can name a font and leave it to your computer to have it. That is fine for reading today and forbidden by PDF/A, because the file has to be self-contained — and the font it names cannot be embedded from here, since we do not have it. When that happens the only honest route is to redraw each page as an image: it looks identical and the text stops being selectable. A scan is already images, so it goes through untouched.
What is removed
JavaScript, actions that run when the document opens, files carried inside it and any encryption: PDF/A allows none of them. Annotations are kept and marked as printable. A digital signature does not survive the conversion, because the bytes it covers change — sign after converting, never before.
Is it private?
Yes. Everything runs inside your web browser, using your own device. Nothing is uploaded to any server, so your documents stay completely private. How does this work without uploading?
Frequently asked questions
Which level does it write?
PDF/A-2B, the one that is asked for in practice: it guarantees the document looks the same, without requiring the text to be tagged for screen readers (that is level A).
Can you convert a scan?
Yes, and it is the easiest case: a scan has no fonts to miss, so its pages are kept exactly as they are and only the archival wrapping is added.
Will my archive accept the file?
It should. This writes what the standard requires, but conformance is what a validator says, not what a converter claims: if your archive runs one, trust its verdict over this sentence.
Are my files uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser, like every tool here. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it still works.