PDF to PDF/A (best-effort)
Drop a PDF and download a best-effort PDF/A-1b version. It adds PDF/A identification, an sRGB output intent, and document metadata, and re-saves the file unencrypted. It does not embed missing fonts and is not a validated or certified conversion — for guaranteed ISO-19005 conformance, run a dedicated preflight tool. Everything runs in your browser; your file never leaves your device.
What “best-effort PDF/A” means here
PDF/A is the ISO-19005 archival standard. Real conformance requires every used font to be embedded, no encryption, device-independent colour, identification metadata, and a clean pass through a preflight validator. A pure-JavaScript browser library cannot inspect and embed fonts or validate conformance, so a browser tool cannot honestly promise a certified PDF/A file.
What this tool can do correctly, it does: it adds PDF/A-1b identification XMP metadata (pdfaid:part 1, pdfaid:conformance B), embeds an sRGB IEC61966-2.1 ICC output intent marked GTS_PDFA1, sets document metadata (title, creator, creation date), and re-saves the file unencrypted. That is genuine preparation toward PDF/A — but it is not a validated or certified conversion, and it does not embed missing fonts. For a guaranteed ISO-19005 file, run a dedicated PDF/A preflight tool afterwards.
Is it private?
Yes. The preparation runs entirely in your browser using pdf-lib, a pure-JavaScript library. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or seen by us. There is no server involved.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this produce a certified, validated PDF/A file?
- No. This is best-effort PDF/A-1b preparation, not a validated or certified conversion. It adds the PDF/A identification metadata, an sRGB output intent, and document metadata, and ensures the file is not encrypted. It does not embed missing fonts, fix transparency, or run a preflight validator, so it cannot guarantee ISO-19005 conformance. For a guaranteed conformant file, run a dedicated PDF/A preflight tool.
- What exactly does it change in my PDF?
- Three things, all of which pdf-lib can do correctly in the browser: it sets document metadata (a title, the creator, and a creation date); it embeds an sRGB IEC61966-2.1 ICC output intent marked GTS_PDFA1; and it injects PDF/A-1b identification XMP metadata (pdfaid:part 1, pdfaid:conformance B). It also re-saves the file unencrypted. It does not alter your pages, fonts, or images.
- Why can't a browser tool guarantee true PDF/A?
- Full ISO-19005 conformance requires embedding every font actually used, removing transparency and encryption, colour-managing all images, and passing a validator. pdf-lib, the pure-JavaScript library this runs on, cannot inspect or embed fonts or validate conformance in the browser. So we do only the preparation steps we can do honestly, and we label the result as such rather than overstating it.
- Is my file uploaded to a server?
- No. The preparation runs entirely in your browser using pdf-lib. Your file is never sent anywhere, and there is no server involved.
- Is it free, and do I need an account?
- It is free with no watermarks, no daily caps, and no sign-up. Drop a file, prepare it, and download the result.