PDF to PDF/A
Archive-oriented PDF/A-2b, made with Ghostscript.
PDF to PDF/A runs on our secure server
- Encrypted upload
- Your file is uploaded directly to short-lived object storage over a pre-signed URL.
- Safety checks
- Each file is checked before any processor sees it: an empty file, a file whose type contradicts its name or this tool, or a PDF with no PDF header is refused. Whether a malware scan runs as well is reported by the live server, and shows here once this page has heard from it.
- Processing
- A separate processing server — not this website — fetches your file from that storage and does the work.
- Download
- You get a signed, expiring link to the result — no account required.
- Auto-delete
- Inputs are wiped right after processing; outputs auto-delete within the retention window.
Checking our secure server…
About this tool
Convert PDFs to PDF/A-2b for long-term archiving — processed by Ghostscript on a secure server that deletes the input when the job finishes.
Files are processed on a secure server, which deletes the upload when the job ends and serves the result for a limited time.
More details
PDF to PDF/A, an online converter, rewrites an ordinary PDF as PDF/A-2b: conformance level b of PDF/A-2 (ISO 19005-2), the archiving format meant for documents that must still open and look the same years from now. Ghostscript's pdfwrite device rebuilds the file with its PDF/A-2 setting switched on. Level b (basic) is about visual appearance; the tagged structure that level a requires is not added.
Some of what a PDF can carry has no place in PDF/A, and the converter is told to drop it and keep going rather than abandon the job. What Ghostscript reports while doing so appears above your download in its own words: at most 10 distinct lines, each cut to 200 characters, with any line naming a file path held back and a closing line saying further messages were not shown. The line you are most likely to meet ends in "discarding DOCINFO", because most PDFs carry producer or creator text. Nothing checks the output against the PDF/A specification afterwards, so treat it as a best-effort conversion, not a certificate.
The conversion happens where Ghostscript is installed, on pdf.xyz's secure server, so your PDF (one per job, 100 MB at most) travels there over TLS. Once the job is over our server deletes your original. You then have 60 minutes to download the archive version, and whatever is still in storage after that is wiped by the next daily sweep.
When to use it
Depositing a thesis in a university repository
Some repositories ask for PDF/A at deposit. Convert the final version here, then run the repository's own checker, or an independent validator such as veraPDF, before you submit: this tool checks only that its output is a PDF that declares PDF/A-2b and carries a colour profile, not that it conforms.
Records you must keep for years
Board minutes and annual statements outlive the software that made them, and PDF/A requires every font to be embedded. Where your original only names a font without carrying it, Ghostscript uses one from its own set instead; on our secure server, NimbusSans was seen standing in for Helvetica. The notes do not report that swap, so compare the archive copy with the original page by page.
An upload portal that insists on PDF/A
When a submission system rejects a file for not being PDF/A, a pass through here is worth trying. If the portal names a different level, such as PDF/A-1b or PDF/A-3b, this tool will not match it, because every job targets PDF/A-2b.
Seeing what an archive copy would lose
Read the notes before you replace an original. They hold only what Ghostscript chose to report, so if they name something you rely on, keep the source file next to the PDF/A copy.
How it works
1Check our server badge
The badge at the top reads Secure server when conversion is available. Otherwise the panel says why and its Convert button stays off, so nothing is sent.
2Add one PDF
Drop it on the area reading "Add a PDF, or", or click browse. Its name replaces the drop area, with Remove beside it to swap files.
3Press Convert to PDF/A
The button reads Uploading your file… while the PDF travels to our secure server, Waiting for our server… while the job is queued, Converting to PDF/A… while Ghostscript rewrites it, and Downloading the result… as the copy comes back. Our server first looks for a PDF header at the start and a %%EOF marker near the end; a file missing either, such as a download that stopped partway, is refused and nothing is produced.
4Read the notes, then download
If Ghostscript reported anything, "What PDF/A could not keep" lists it above "Your PDF/A file is ready." The download button then names the copy: report.pdf comes back as report-pdfa.pdf.
Common questions
Will the converted file pass a PDF/A validator?
It targets PDF/A-2b, but pdf.xyz runs no PDF/A validator. Before your file is returned, our server checks that it is not empty, that it has a PDF header and end-of-file marker, and that it declares PDF/A-2b: PDF/A identification part 2, conformance B in its XMP metadata, plus an embedded colour profile (a GTS_PDFA1 output intent). If either declaration is missing, no file is returned. A declaration is not proof of conformance, so the file carries no compliance guarantee; check it with the validator your archive uses. One oddity: Ghostscript's metadata notices say "PDF/A1" even though it runs with its PDF/A-2 setting. The notes show that wording unchanged, and we have not established why Ghostscript uses it.
Can I convert to PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2u or PDF/A-3?
No. The panel has no level picker and every conversion targets PDF/A-2b, so for any other level you need software that lets you choose it.
What does "discarding DOCINFO" mean for my title or author?
DOCINFO is the older dictionary where a PDF keeps its title, author, producer and similar fields. The notice means Ghostscript found a text string there that it cannot represent in PDF/A's XMP metadata, and that it discarded DOCINFO. It does not list which fields went, so if the title or author matters, open the copy's document properties and check.
Does converting a scan to PDF/A make its text searchable?
No. A scanned page stays a picture of text. Run it through OCR PDF first, which adds a searchable text layer, then convert that file and search the PDF/A copy to confirm the words survived. OCR also runs on our secure server, so the scan is uploaded for that step too.
What about a PDF that asks for a password when opened?
This panel has no field for a password, so Ghostscript is never given one. Remove the password first with Unlock PDF, which asks for the password that opens the file, then convert the unlocked copy. The PDF/A copy is written without encryption, which PDF/A does not allow in any case.
How long is my PDF kept?
Ghostscript works in a temporary folder on our secure server, and a cleanup step deletes that folder whether or not the conversion worked. The stored upload is deleted once the job ends, or held for a retry if the job hit a temporary error. Your PDF/A result can be fetched for 60 minutes. After that its link returns an error, and the stored bytes go when the storage rule next runs on its daily cycle.
How large can my file be?
Up to 100 MB per file.
Is the PDF/A-2b file validated?
No. Ghostscript converts the file to PDF/A-2b, but the result is not checked against the PDF/A specification, so treat it as a best-effort conversion rather than a certificate of compliance.
What does the conversion remove?
Whatever PDF/A-2b cannot hold. Ghostscript drops it and reports it, and up to 10 of its messages are listed with your download under “What PDF/A could not keep:”, followed by a count of any it leaves out. Document metadata is the usual casualty.
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