PDF/A guarantees that a document will still display exactly the same decades from now. Often required for official submissions and legal archiving, you can get it here in one click, without uploading your file.
How it works
- Select the PDF.
- Choose the quality.
- Click “Convert to PDF/A”.
Frequently asked questions
Does the text stay searchable?
Yes: pages are converted to high-quality images and the original text is kept invisibly, so it’s searchable and selectable.
Is compliance guaranteed?
The file contains everything the PDF/A-2b standard requires (color profile, metadata, no encryption), but it isn’t certified by an official validator.
Which version of PDF/A is produced?
PDFRoll produces PDF/A-2b, the variant of the PDF/A-2 standard that guarantees faithful visual reproduction of the document.
Which quality should I choose?
“High (216 dpi)” suits most documents. Choose “Normal (144 dpi)” for a smaller file, or “Very high (300 dpi)” for a document meant for printing.
Can I convert a scanned PDF to PDF/A?
Yes, the appearance of the pages is preserved. To make the text searchable too, first run the document through the “OCR PDF” tool.
My PDF is password-protected. What can I do?
A PDF/A can’t be encrypted. First remove the protection with the “Unlock PDF” tool if you know the password, then start the conversion.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. Everything happens in your browser: your documents never leave your device. The tool is free, with no sign-up.
What is PDF/A?
PDF/A is a standardized version of PDF designed for long-term archiving. A PDF/A file must contain everything it needs to display the same way everywhere and for a long time: no encryption or password, a defined color profile and metadata describing the document.
It’s the format often requested by government agencies, courts and some official document submission platforms, or for archiving invoices and contracts.
How PDFRoll converts your document
PDFRoll produces a file in PDF/A-2b format:
- Each page is converted to a high-quality image, which locks in its appearance, fonts included.
- The original text is kept invisibly behind the image: the document stays searchable and the text selectable.
- An sRGB color profile and archiving metadata (title, dates, PDF/A identification) are embedded.
The “Quality” setting offers “Normal (144 dpi)”, “High (216 dpi)”, selected by default, and “Very high (300 dpi)” for documents meant for printing or full of small details. Conversion happens in your browser, without uploading the file.
Limitations to know
- Compliance isn’t certified by an official validator: if your organization provides a verification tool, check the file before submitting it.
- Since the pages become images, the file may be larger than the original, and links or interactive forms aren’t kept.
- A scanned PDF has no text to keep: run it through “OCR PDF” first to get a searchable PDF/A.
- On pages that are rotated in the original PDF, the invisible text isn’t added.
Before or after conversion
If the submission portal sets a maximum size, try a lower quality before starting the conversion. A PDF that asks for a password to open must first go through “Unlock PDF”. The document’s title is carried over into the PDF/A (or the file name if there is none): to change it, use “Edit properties” before converting.