Convert
to PDF/A.
An ordinary PDF is made to be read now. A PDF/A is made to still open in twenty years, because everything it needs is carried inside it. Free, processed in France.
- tool.pricefree 0 €
- tool.installnothing to install
- tool.retentiondeleted after the job
- tool.hostingFrance 100%
Your files are processed on servers in France and deleted automatically once the job is done. More on security.
What it takes, what it gives back
- You uploadOne PDF file, up to 100 MB
- You chooseThe conformance level: 1b, 2b or 3b
- What happensFonts and colour profiles are embedded, and anything the standard forbids is removed
- You get backA PDF/A at the level you asked for
- RetentionNone. The file you send and the file produced are erased once the job is done
Three steps, nothing to install
Upload your PDF
Up to 100 MB.
Pick the level
2b unless someone has told you otherwise.
Download the PDF/A
Check it afterwards with the PDF/A validator if the file matters.
Three situations it was made for
A document you have to keep by law
Records that must survive an audit years later are exactly what the standard was written for.
A submission a public body asks for
Some administrations accept nothing but PDF/A, often at level 1b. The level is usually written in their instructions.
A file you want your successor to be able to open
A font that lives on your machine and nowhere else is a document that stops rendering the day the machine goes.
What the tool actually does
What makes a PDF/A different
An ordinary PDF can point outward: a font installed on the machine, a colour profile the reader is expected to have. When those disappear, the document changes or stops opening. A PDF/A carries all of it inside, which is why the file is bigger and why it still renders the same in twenty years.
Which level to pick
2b is the sensible default and accepts most documents as they are. 1b is stricter and older, and it is what some public bodies name explicitly. 3b is 2b plus the right to carry attached files inside the document, which matters when the attachment is part of the record.
Converting is not validating
A conversion produces a file that should conform. Whether it actually does is a separate question, and the PDF/A validator is what answers it. For a document that has to be accepted by someone else, it is worth the extra step.
Before you upload anything
What is PDF/A?
A version of PDF standardized as ISO 19005 for long term keeping. Everything the document needs to render is embedded in it.
Which level should I choose?
2b unless you have been told otherwise. 1b is stricter and sometimes required by public bodies. 3b adds the right to embed attached files.
Why is the file bigger?
Because the fonts and the colour profiles are now inside it. That extra weight is the whole point.
Does the document look the same?
It should. Level 1b flattens more than the others, so a document with transparency can shift slightly at that level.
Is the tool free?
Yes, with no sign-up and nothing to install.
Are my files kept?
No. The file you send and the PDF/A produced are deleted automatically once the job is done.
Where are my files processed?
On servers in France. Your data stays in the European Union, under the GDPR.
How do I check the result?
With the PDF/A validator, which reads the file and tells you whether it really conforms.
More questions about the tools? See the toolbox section of the help centre.