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PDF to PDF/A

Fonts embedded, colours declared, the PDF/A stamp set — for filing and keeping.

More free conversions, where you upload. The Fylane extension does the same work inside any upload form, on its own free share every day.Add to Chrome

How to convert PDF to PDF/A

  1. Drop the PDF.
  2. Pick the level (2b unless told otherwise).
  3. Press Convert and download.

What happens to your file

Ghostscript rewrites the document as PDF/A: every font embedded, every colour declared in sRGB, encryption and scripts removed, and the PDF/A identification written into the file’s metadata. Anything that cannot be made compliant is left out and named in the report rather than failing the job. The result’s declaration is checked before it is handed back.

A full conformance check (the kind veraPDF runs) is not part of this page — the file carries what Ghostscript, the reference PDF/A writer for two decades, produces. A registry that validates on upload will tell you if a font or an image needs attention, and the report’s warnings usually name it first.

Questions

Which level?

2b, unless the registry says otherwise. 1b is the oldest and refuses transparency (a warning tells you); 3b allows files to be attached, which e-invoicing standards use.

Is it validated?

The PDF/A declaration and structure are checked here; a full validator is not run. The report lists what Ghostscript could not make compliant.

Do it once, not on every form

Fixing a file here means downloading it and going back to the form. The Fylane extension does this work inside the form instead, on the file you already have.

And it keeps the result. The next application that asks for a résumé, a cover letter and a photo fills all three from one tap, each one refitted to what that site accepts.

Your files stay in the browser, encrypted, on your machine. Nothing is uploaded to keep them and nothing is sent anywhere to fill a form.

Filmed from the extension: three upload fields on a job application, filled from one tap.

Add to Chrome — freeWhat it does

Do this in code

curl -X POST https://api.fylane.dev/v1/jobs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FYLANE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "file_id": "<file id>",
    "operation": "pdf.to-pdfa",
    "options": {
      "part": 2
    }
  }'

The same operation, pdf.to-pdfa — PDF/A-1, -2 or -3 as Ghostscript writes it: fonts embedded, colours declared, the declaration checked; what cannot be made compliant is reported, not failed. Upload first with the quickstart; every option is on the operations page. 500 free credits a month, then $5 per thousand.