PDF/A Compliance Check

Free

Heuristic check whether a PDF meets PDF/A archive standards. Flags unembedded fonts, encryption, JavaScript, missing metadata.

What you'll get: a PDF/A compliance verdict — declared level, per-requirement pass/fail, and what we couldn't verify. For another use, try PDF/X Check.

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Stays in your browser

Free tools run fully on-device — nothing is uploaded to a server.

No watermarks

Clean output, no branding, no daily limits.

Free forever

No signup required. Seriously.

Why people check PDF/A compliance

PDF/A is the archive standard — government records, legal filings, library acquisitions. Non-compliant files get rejected; compliant ones get preserved correctly for decades.

Government / legal filing

Court e-filing systems and government records portals often require PDF/A. Verify before submission so a non-compliant file doesn't get bounced back.

Library / repository deposit

Institutional repositories, journal archives, and digital libraries mandate PDF/A for long-term preservation. Confirm compliance before deposit.

Compliance audit

Periodic checks across an organization's PDF library to confirm archived materials still meet PDF/A. Issues like un-embedded fonts can creep in via re-export.

Re-export QA

Confirming a 're-saved as PDF/A' export actually meets the standard. Some PDF software claims PDF/A export but produces non-compliant output.

Migration prep

Moving a document archive to a system that requires PDF/A. Audit the existing files first to understand the scope of remediation needed.

How PDF/A Check works

Three steps, no signup, no uploads.

STEP 1
Drop your PDF
Up to 100 MB. Byte parser reads XMP markers + composite checks (fonts, encryption, JS).
STEP 2
Click Check PDF/A compliance
We surface the declared level (PDF/A-1a/1b/2a/2b/2u/3a/3b/3u or none) plus per-requirement pass/fail.
STEP 3
Review findings
Headline verdict + itemized checks. Failures include guidance for fixing (typically: re-export with embed-fonts, no-encryption, no-JS).

What makes pdfcraft ai different

Same engine Chrome uses
PDFium is Google's PDF engine — the one that powers Chrome's built-in PDF viewer. We compile it to WebAssembly so it runs in your browser at near-native speed.
100% local processing
Most free PDF tools upload your file to a server, process it, and stream the result back. We don't. Your file lives in your browser tab and never touches our infrastructure. Verifiable in your browser's Network panel.
No watermark, no signup, no daily limit
Convert 1 PDF or 1,000. We don't gate on volume because there's nothing to gate on — the engine runs on your machine.
Honest about limitations
When something the tool can't do (encrypted PDFs, cross-reference streams), we tell you clearly instead of failing silently. Same for partial results: sampled vs exact, embedded vs not.
Open standards, free engines
PDFium is BSD/Apache licensed (free for any use). We don't pay vendor license fees and pass that savings on to you (and to ourselves) as a free, ad-supported tool with no upgrade-to-pro pressure.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a substitute for veraPDF or Acrobat Pro?

No — heuristic only. veraPDF runs hundreds of structural validations including color-profile correctness, transparency rules, and metadata-XMP cross-references. We surface the major signals (declaration markers, fonts embedded, no encryption/JS, XMP present) to give you a fast triage. For authoritative compliance, run veraPDF or use Acrobat Pro's Preflight.

What's the difference between the levels?

Part 1/2/3: PDF/A-1 is the strictest (PDF 1.4 base, no transparency); -2 added PDF 1.7 features; -3 allows attachments. Conformance a/b/u: 'b' = visually accurate, 'a' = accessible (tagged), 'u' = unicode mapping. Most archive workflows accept any level; some specify a minimum (often -2b or -3b).

My PDF says 'Not PDF/A'. How do I make it one?

Re-export from the source application with 'PDF/A' selected as the format (Word, Acrobat, LibreOffice all support this). Or use Acrobat Pro's 'Save As Other > Archivable PDF (PDF/A)' to convert in place. Make sure all fonts embed and metadata is filled.

Why might a PDF declare PDF/A but fail my checks?

PDFs can claim PDF/A in metadata while violating actual requirements (this is annoyingly common). Possibilities: a font got swapped during a re-save, an encryption was added, a script was injected. Our checks catch these gaps; veraPDF would catch many more.

Is anything uploaded?

No. Pure byte-stream parsing in your browser.

For print production instead?

PDF/X Compliance Check is the print-prep counterpart — verifies fonts embedded, output intent, trim box, and the other PDF/X requirements.

Try PDF/X Check

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