PDF to PDF/A

What this tool does

Rewrites a PDF as PDF/A, the format made for long-term archiving and often demanded by courts, registries and record offices. Fonts are embedded in the file, external references and encryption are dropped and colour is defined independently of any device, while the page keeps its appearance. You pick the level: PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b or PDF/A-3b. Ghostscript does the work inside the optional service on your own computer, so the file stays on your machine — and since a public web page cannot reach that service, this tool is for people running Dosya Kalemi locally.

How to use it

1. Make sure the local conversion service is running. The page checks on open, and Check again picks it up if you started it afterwards.
2. Drop the PDF you want to archive.
3. Choose the archive level: PDF/A-1b is the strictest, PDF/A-2b is the usual choice, PDF/A-3b allows attached files.
4. Run the conversion and download the archived PDF.

Common questions

Which level should I choose?

PDF/A-2b unless you were told otherwise; it is the most widely supported. PDF/A-1b is stricter and drops transparency and layers, and PDF/A-3b permits attached files, which can work against the point of archiving.

Is the result checked for compliance?

Not here. Ghostscript converts what it can and keeps going instead of stopping at an object it cannot make compliant, so the output is a conversion, not a certificate. If you need proof of conformance, run the file through a validator such as veraPDF.

The tool says the local service is not running. What now?

PDF/A conversion needs Ghostscript, a real program that a browser tab cannot host, so it lives in a small service on your own computer. Opened from the published site, the browser will never find it — pages served over the web are blocked from connecting to your machine. Run Dosya Kalemi locally, install Ghostscript or use the Docker image, then press Check again.