Step 1: Upload your file.
Start by opening the converter page and finding the upload section. Drag your PDF files into the box or click "Pick Files" to find them, it supports many files at once, making it easy for both simple and complex documents.
Start by opening the converter page and finding the upload section. Drag your PDF files into the box or click "Pick Files" to find them, it supports many files at once, making it easy for both simple and complex documents.
Once uploaded, check the preview of your files and choose the PDF/A type needed, like 1b for basic archiving or 3 if attachments need to be kept. Adjust a few settings: make sure all fonts are included to stop display issues later, confirm colour accuracy for consistent viewing, and turn on validation to ensure it meets ISO standards.
If files are scanned, enable OCR to make text searchable without losing quality. Convert and download the finished PDF/A file, ready for long-term storage.
Drag PDFs into the box or browse to add them. Handles many files together for quick work with large groups.
After upload, see previews and pick sections or rearrange pages before converting for better organization.
Choose from versions like 1a, 1b, 2u, or 3 to fit your archiving purpose and keep files future-safe.
Automatically adds all fonts and correct colour settings so files always look the same everywhere.
Runs tests to confirm your PDF follows ISO rules, and shows any needed fixes before saving.
Add searchable text to image-based PDFs using OCR PDF while keeping the file 100% compliant.
Add or change details like author name, title, or tags to make files easier to find later.
Keeps images, links, and attachments working properly while allowing resizing or positioning.
Watch edits instantly in a responsive display, rotate, zoom, or make small changes before saving.
Converts detailed PDFs to PDF/A quickly online while keeping full quality and rule compliance.
Get your final files through encrypted links, share or store them safely, and enjoy instant file deletion.
This converter follows ISO 19005 rules, saving fonts, colours, and structure so files stay readable for decades, great for any official or legal archive.
OCR adds text layers to image scans, allowing text to be searched in an archived file without breaking any PDF/A rules.
Process many PDFs at the same time with automatic version settings, perfect for large organizations or archiving projects.
The tool recommends the best version and settings based on a file's content, helping create storage-ready PDFs with useful metadata.
Files are encrypted during the process and deleted immediately afterward, ensuring privacy for sensitive documents.
No downloads needed, runs smoothly on computers, tablets, and phones, letting anyone convert and archive from anywhere.
Converting PDF to PDF/A matters most whenever a document needs to stay readable and compliant for years or decades rather than just the near term.
Officials can convert public records into PDF/A for long-term safety, selecting 1a for accessibility and checking metadata for easy audits. Where a record contains personal details that shouldn't be public, Redact PDF can permanently remove them before the file is archived.
Artists can change design PDFs to archivable versions, including colour profiles for accuracy and batch-processing artwork safely.
Researchers can convert academic PDFs into PDF/A, enable OCR for readable text, and pick 2u for Unicode support.
Managers can convert policy PDFs into compliant versions, adding tags and process groups to support HR and legal archiving. When only certain sections of a larger file need to be kept on file, Extract PDF Pages can isolate just those pages before conversion.
People can save family papers or property scans as PDF/A-3, validating files to ensure they last for generations.
Librarians can turn scanned books or journals into PDF/A, include attachments, and preview results to ensure accuracy. If an older scan has corrupted pages or structural errors, Repair PDF can fix the file first so it converts and validates cleanly.
PDF/A is a stricter, self-contained variant of PDF, and it's worth knowing how certain elements are handled to meet that standard.
Fonts are embedded directly into the file rather than referenced externally, so the document displays identically on any device even decades from now, regardless of which fonts are installed.
Color profiles are standardized so that colors render consistently across viewers and printers, rather than shifting depending on the software used to open the file.
Scanned or image-based pages can have a searchable text layer added through OCR, meeting PDF/A's accessibility expectations without altering the visible page content.
Multimedia and JavaScript, such as embedded video, audio, or interactive scripts, are not permitted under the PDF/A standard and are stripped out or flagged during validation, since these depend on external playback support that isn't guaranteed to exist long-term.
The main exception is encryption: PDF/A files cannot be password-protected in the same way as a standard PDF, since long-term archival access takes priority over restricted viewing. Documents needing both compliance and access control typically use PDF/A alongside separate storage-level security instead.
These tools solve different problems and are easy to reach for interchangeably, even though only one is actually built for long-term archiving.
â—Ź PDF to PDF/A (this tool) locks a file's fonts, colors, and structure into a self-contained, ISO-compliant format built to stay readable for decades, the right choice for legal, government, or historical records.
â—Ź Compress PDF solves a different problem: reducing file size for easier sharing or storage space, not long-term compliance. Use Compress PDF when the goal is a smaller file, not an archival-safe one.
Protecting a PDF with a password is about restricting who can open a file today, while PDF/A is about ensuring the file itself remains readable and standards-compliant regardless of who opens it in the future. Many archived records ultimately need both: a PDF/A file for long-term integrity, stored inside a secured system for access control.
Yes, completely free to use, with no hidden charges for converting PDF files to PDF/A.
Drag them into the upload area or click to select. It supports multiple files at once.
Yes, you can pick from 1a, 1b, 2u, 3, and others as needed.
Turn on OCR to make the text searchable while keeping standards.
Use the validation tool, it checks and shows any issues before saving.
No, large files work fine without restrictions.
Yes, encryption and quick deletion protect all content.
For general questions about PDF24, visit our documentation.
Upload your PDF file above to start converting to PDF/A in seconds, no account or extra software required.