Government agencies, courts, libraries, and medical institutions mandate PDF/A format for long-term archival. PDF/A bans JavaScript, encryption, and external font references — features that could prevent the document from rendering decades from now. PDFKits PDF/A Converter converts any PDF to PDF/A compliance directly in your browser. Free, no signup, no upload, with support for PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, and PDF/A-3 variants.
PDF/A compliance requires several modifications: all fonts must be embedded (no external dependencies), color spaces must be self-contained (no external ICC profiles), encryption must be removed, JavaScript and dynamic content must be flattened or removed. PDFKits performs these transformations automatically and outputs a compliance-ready PDF/A file. The visual content is preserved — only the underlying structure changes to meet ISO 19005 requirements.
Drop the file. PDFKits scans for PDF/A blockers (external fonts, encryption, JavaScript) and lists what will be modified.
PDF/A-1 (most basic, widest compatibility), PDF/A-2 (adds JPEG 2000 support and transparency), or PDF/A-3 (allows embedded files, useful for archived invoices with XML data). Most users pick PDF/A-2 unless a specific archive mandates otherwise.
Click Convert. PDFKits embeds fonts, replaces external references, removes blocked features, and adds the PDF/A identifier to the file. Download the compliant PDF/A file ready for archival.
Court filings, civil records, and government archives mandate PDF/A. PDFKits' free converter is a low-friction way to meet the requirement.
Cultural institutions archive scanned books, manuscripts, and photographs in PDF/A to ensure they remain readable for future generations.
HIPAA-compliant medical archives benefit from PDF/A's structural guarantees against rendering failure decades into the future.
Accountants and tax authorities increasingly accept (or require) PDF/A for long-term tax record retention.
Dedicated PDF/A converters (Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, callas pdfaPilot) cost $19.99/month or $399+ per license. Online conversion uploads your file. PDFKits performs the conversion entirely in your browser via pdf-lib, free, no signup, your archival documents stay on your device.
PDF/A-2 is the modern default. Pick PDF/A-1 for maximum compatibility with old archive software. Pick PDF/A-3 only if you need to embed structured data alongside the visual document (e.g., invoices with XML).
PDFKits aims for full ISO 19005 compliance. For mission-critical archival, validate the output with PDF/A validators like veraPDF before final submission.
PDF/A requires embedding all fonts — if your source used external font references, the new embedded copies add weight. The trade-off is multi-decade rendering reliability.
No — PDF/A bans encryption. Unlock first via our Unlock PDF tool, then convert.
Removed entirely. PDF/A bans JavaScript. Visual content is preserved; interactive scripts are not.
For PDF/A-1 (which bans transparency), yes. For PDF/A-2/3 (which allow transparency), it's preserved.