Save a PDF as PDF/A

PDF/A is an archival version of PDF. It embeds fonts and leaves out features that may not display the same way later, such as JavaScript and encryption. Some courts require it.

Courts on this site that ask for PDF/A

Required: New York State courts, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Recommended: Florida state courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada.

Best: save PDF/A from the original document

Microsoft Word (Windows)

1. Choose File, then Save As, and pick PDF as the file type.
2. Click Options and turn on the PDF/A option ("ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)").
3. Save.

LibreOffice (free, Windows, Mac and Linux)

1. Choose File, then Export as PDF.
2. On the General tab, turn on "Archive (PDF/A, ISO 19005)".
3. Export.

Convert a finished PDF

Adobe Acrobat Pro

Choose File, then Save as Other, then Archivable PDF (PDF/A).

OCRmyPDF (free)

ocrmypdf --skip-text input.pdf output.pdf

OCRmyPDF writes PDF/A by default and runs OCR on any scanned pages at the same time.

Check it

The checker reads the PDF/A declaration inside the file. For full conformance testing, the free veraPDF validator checks every PDF/A rule.

Check your PDF now

Last updated October 18, 2026. Menu names can vary by software version.