PDF to PDF/A Converter — Free, Private, Browser-Based

Convert your PDF to the PDF/A archiving standard for long-term preservation. Choose conformance level (PDF/A-1b or PDF/A-2b) and quality settings. 100% in your browser — your files never leave your device.

No signupNo file uploadsUnlimited use
Stays on your device

PDF files

  • Never uploaded — converting happens in your browser
  • No sign-up, no watermark, no file limit

PDF/A is an ISO archiving standard (ISO 19005) for PDF documents used in long-term preservation. A PDF/A file embeds all fonts, colour profiles, and content required for reliable visual reproduction, while restricting features such as encryption and external references that could make the document unrenderable in the future. This tool converts your PDF to PDF/A-1b (ISO 19005-1, based on PDF 1.4) or PDF/A-2b (ISO 19005-2, based on PDF 1.7) in your browser — the file never leaves your device. We tested files from this converter with veraPDF, the reference PDF/A validator, and they passed. Every page is saved as an image, so text can't be selected, copied or searched, even if your PDF was run through OCR first. Links, bookmarks and fillable form fields don't carry over. Your document's title and author are kept. SmallPDF and Sejda do not offer PDF/A conversion. iLovePDF and Adobe require paid plans.

What is the PDF/A Standard?

PDF/A is an international standard for the long-term archiving of electronic documents, defined by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 19005. A PDF/A file is a self-contained document: all fonts, colour profiles, embedded images, and rendering metadata required to produce a visually accurate reproduction of the document are embedded within the file itself. External references, encryption, audio, video, and executable content are not permitted.

The purpose of PDF/A is to ensure that a document can be opened and displayed accurately years or decades after it was created, regardless of the software environment, operating system, or hardware available at that future time. This requirement underpins legal recordkeeping, government archiving, scientific data preservation, and regulated industry compliance.

PDF/A-1b vs PDF/A-2b

StandardPDF/A-1b (ISO 19005-1)PDF/A-2b (ISO 19005-2)
Based on PDF versionPDF 1.4PDF 1.7
Published20052011
CompatibilityBroadest — accepted by most government, court, and legacy systemsModern systems; check submission requirements before using
Image compressionJPEG, LZW, CCITT Group 4All of 1b, plus JPEG2000
TransparencyNot permittedPermitted
Best forLegal filings, government submissions, broad regulatory complianceDocuments using transparency; where file size efficiency matters

How it works

How to Convert PDF to PDF/A

Three steps. Both conformance levels (PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b). Quality preset before convert. Per-page progress through processing.

  1. Step 1: Upload Your PDF

    Drop your PDF onto the upload area or click to browse and select your file. The converter accepts standard PDF files. Your file is read and converted by your browser — it is not uploaded to a server at any point in the conversion.

  2. Step 2: Choose Conformance Level and Quality Preset

    Select the PDF/A conformance level — PDF/A-1b (ISO 19005-1, based on PDF 1.4) or PDF/A-2b (ISO 19005-2, based on PDF 1.7) — that matches your submission requirements. Then select a quality preset: Maximum (lossless PNG at 3x), High (JPEG 95% at 2x) or Standard (JPEG 85% at 2x, the smallest files).

  3. Step 3: Monitor Per-Page Progress and Download

    Per-page progress is displayed as the converter processes each page to the chosen conformance level. When complete, download your PDF/A file. Each page is stored as a picture with the sRGB colour profile and PDF/A identification added, so the text can no longer be selected or searched. Your document's title and author are kept. If your recipient needs a validation report, check the file with the validator they use.

What This PDF to PDF/A Converter Includes

Browser-based processing, quality presets and per-page progress, plus what to expect from the output.

Files stay in browser

Processing runs in your browser. Your PDF is never uploaded to a server. PDF24 processes PDF/A on their servers. If your document contains classified, legally privileged, or confidential content, browser-based conversion is the only option that avoids server exposure without deploying local enterprise software.

Quality presets

Choose how each page is stored before converting: Maximum (lossless PNG at 3x), High (JPEG 95% at 2x) or Standard (JPEG 85% at 2x, the smallest files). iLovePDF, PDF24, and Adobe do not offer quality presets — output quality is fixed.

Per-page progress

Real-time progress displays as each page is converted. Essential for large documents — legal bundles, medical records, and comprehensive compliance submissions can span hundreds of pages. iLovePDF, PDF24, and Adobe do not show per-page progress for PDF/A conversion.

PDF/A-1b (ISO 19005-1)

The most widely required PDF/A conformance level. Based on PDF 1.4. Accepted by government portals, court filing systems, healthcare record platforms, and the broadest range of document management systems. iLovePDF, PDF24, and Adobe also support PDF/A-1b.

PDF/A-2b (ISO 19005-2)

Based on PDF 1.7. The standard allows JPEG2000 compression, transparency, and layers; this converter gives the same pages at either level, so choose 2b only when your recipient asks for it. iLovePDF, PDF24, and Adobe also support PDF/A-2b.

Pages become pictures

Every page is stored as an image, so the PDF/A file looks like the original at normal zoom but its text can't be selected, searched or copied, and links, form fields and bookmarks are not kept. Running OCR on the PDF first doesn't change that. Keep your original PDF for editing and searching.

Free and unlimited

No daily conversion cap. iLovePDF requires a paid plan for PDF/A. Adobe requires a Pro subscription. PDF24 is free for PDF/A. SmallPDF and Sejda do not offer PDF/A conversion at all.

No account or watermark

No registration or login is needed. iLovePDF and Adobe require accounts for all conversions. PDF24 allows conversion without an account. No watermarks are added to the output PDF/A file at either conformance level.

Who Requires PDF/A Compliance

  • Government agencies and public sector. Government bodies in the US, UK, EU, and across major markets require PDF/A for official records, citizen-facing document submissions, Freedom of Information responses, and long-term archiving. The US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the UK National Archives, and EU institutional records systems all specify PDF/A for archival submissions. PDF/A-1b is the standard required for most government portals.
  • Legal firms and courts. Courts in multiple jurisdictions require PDF/A for electronically filed legal documents. Law firms converting contracts, case records, correspondence, and evidence for long-term storage use PDF/A to ensure documents remain accessible and visually accurate regardless of future software changes. PDF/A is part of e-filing requirements in federal and state court systems in the US and judicial systems in the EU and UK.
  • Healthcare and life sciences. Healthcare organisations convert patient records, clinical trial documentation, regulatory submissions to the FDA, EMA, and national health agencies, and research publications to PDF/A to ensure medical documents meet long-term retention requirements. HIPAA and other healthcare regulations require that records remain accessible and accurate for defined periods; PDF/A satisfies the archival document requirements of these frameworks.
  • Academic institutions and research. Universities converting theses, dissertations, research publications, and institutional records to PDF/A for submission to institutional repositories, national libraries, and open-access platforms use PDF/A-1b or PDF/A-2b depending on repository requirements. Many journal publishers and preprint servers also require PDF/A-compliant submissions.
  • Regulated financial and insurance sectors. Financial institutions, insurance companies, and investment firms subject to multi-year document retention requirements under frameworks such as MiFID II, Solvency II, and SEC Rule 17a-4 convert records, correspondence, and compliance documentation to PDF/A to meet audit-ready archival requirements. Because this converter runs in the browser, it suits sensitive financial documents that cannot be uploaded to third-party services.

How we compare

Free, private PDF/A conversion

Most competitors don't offer PDF/A conversion, charge for it, or upload your files to their servers. This converter produces PDF/A-1b and PDF/A-2b free, in your browser, with quality presets and per-page progress that no competitor matches.

FeatureOursSmallPDFiLovePDFSejdaPDF24Adobe
PDF/A conversionPaidPro
Free & unlimited——
Files stay in browser——
No account needed——
PDF/A-1b support——
PDF/A-2b support——
Quality presets——
Per-page progress——

Competitor information was accurate at time of publication and may have changed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is PDF/A and why do I need to convert to it?
PDF/A is an ISO standard (ISO 19005) for archiving PDF documents in a format that ensures long-term preservation and reliable reproduction. It requires all content needed to render the document — fonts, colour profiles, and images — to be embedded within the file, while restricting features such as encryption and external references. Government agencies, courts, regulatory bodies, and healthcare organisations frequently require PDF/A for official submissions, legal filings, and records management. Converting to PDF/A produces a file in the format these bodies ask for.
How do I convert a PDF to PDF/A for free?
Go to oneclickpdf.net/tools/pdf-a and drop your PDF onto the upload area or click to browse and select your file. Choose the conformance level — PDF/A-1b or PDF/A-2b — and select a quality preset. The conversion runs entirely in your browser and per-page progress is displayed during processing. Download the PDF/A file when complete. No account, signup, or payment is required. Your file is processed locally on your device and never transmitted to a server at any point.
What is the difference between PDF/A-1b and PDF/A-2b?
PDF/A-1b is based on PDF version 1.4 and is the most widely required conformance level in regulatory, legal, and government contexts. The standard requires everything needed for visual reproduction, such as fonts and colour profiles, to be embedded; this converter's output has no fonts to embed because every page is stored as an image with an sRGB colour profile. PDF/A-2b is based on PDF version 1.7 and allows JPEG2000 compression, transparency, and layers. This converter stores every page as a picture either way, so both levels give the same pages and much the same file size; only the PDF/A level the file declares differs. Choose PDF/A-1b for the broadest compatibility, and PDF/A-2b only when your recipient asks for it.
Will my PDF be uploaded to a server during PDF/A conversion?
No. The converter runs in your browser. Your PDF is read from your device, processed locally, and never transmitted to a server. PDF24 processes files on their servers. iLovePDF requires payment for PDF/A and processes on their infrastructure. Adobe requires a Pro subscription and server-side processing. If your document contains classified, confidential, or legally privileged content, browser-based conversion is the only option that avoids server exposure without deploying local enterprise software.
What quality presets are available for PDF/A conversion?
Three. Maximum Quality stores each page as a lossless PNG at three times normal resolution, for the sharpest result and the largest file. High Quality uses JPEG at 95% quality and twice normal resolution. Standard Quality uses JPEG at 85% and twice normal resolution, for the smallest files. Pick Maximum for documents with fine print or line drawings, and Standard when file size matters more than sharpness.
What does per-page progress mean during PDF/A conversion?
Per-page progress displays the conversion completion status as each page of your PDF is processed to PDF/A format. For multi-page documents, this provides real-time feedback on how the conversion is progressing and how many pages remain. iLovePDF, PDF24, and Adobe Acrobat do not display per-page conversion progress for PDF/A. This feature is particularly useful for large legal, compliance, or archive documents where conversion may take more than a few seconds to complete in the browser.
Will my document look different after converting to PDF/A?
It looks the same at normal zoom, but it works differently. This converter stores every page as a picture, so the text can no longer be selected, searched or copied, even if your PDF was run through OCR first, and links, form fields and bookmarks are not kept. How sharp the pages stay when you zoom in depends on the quality preset. If you need text that can be searched, keep your original PDF alongside the PDF/A copy.
Does converting to PDF/A increase or decrease file size?
Usually it grows for text documents, because every page becomes a picture, and it can shrink for scanned documents saved at a high resolution. The quality preset decides most of the size: Maximum (lossless PNG) gives the largest files and Standard (JPEG 85%) the smallest. The result screen shows the original and converted sizes side by side.
Can I edit a PDF/A file after converting it?
A PDF/A file is an ordinary PDF that opens in any PDF reader, so you never need to convert it back. Editing it can break its PDF/A status, though, and pages made by this converter are pictures, so their text can't be edited. Keep your original PDF for changes, and make a new PDF/A copy from it when you need to submit or archive.
Will the converted file pass a PDF/A validator?
In our tests, files from this converter passed veraPDF, the reference PDF/A validator: we checked PDF/A-1b and PDF/A-2b output from it with veraPDF 1.30.3. Each page is stored as an image with an sRGB colour profile, and the file carries PDF/A identification, matching metadata and a file ID, which are what those checks look at. We don't run the validator on your own file, so if a portal requires a validation report, check your file with the validator it uses before you submit.
Who needs to convert documents to PDF/A?
Government agencies and public sector bodies converting documents for official record-keeping and submission portals are the most common PDF/A users. Law firms and courts require PDF/A for legal filings, case records, and contract archives. Healthcare organisations maintain medical records and regulatory submissions in PDF/A. Academic institutions archive research publications and theses. Regulated financial institutions and insurance companies use PDF/A for compliance documentation. Any organisation subject to multi-year document retention requirements — including ISO standards, GDPR, and sector-specific regulations — benefits from PDF/A archiving.
Can I convert PDF to PDF/A on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The converter works in any modern mobile browser, including Safari on iPhone and iPad and Chrome on Android. Open the page in your mobile browser, tap the upload area to select your PDF, choose your conformance level and quality preset, and download the PDF/A file when conversion completes. The conversion runs in your browser without any app installation required. Per-page progress is displayed during conversion so you can monitor completion on mobile devices.

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