---
title: "PDF to PDF/A Converter — ISO Archival | Compress Pro"
description: "Convert PDFs to PDF/A-2b right in your browser — the ISO archival standard courts and registries require. Ghostscript runs locally, zero uploads. Free."
canonical: https://compress-pro.com/pdf-to-pdfa
---

# Convert PDF to PDF/A.

> Archive-grade PDF/A-2b conversion — run on your device.

Convert any PDF to **PDF/A-2b — the ISO archival standard — entirely in your browser**. Courts, public registries, tenders and long-term archives require it; Ghostscript embeds the fonts, fixes the color definitions and stamps the conformance metadata, all locally.

**No uploads · No ads · Free & open source.**

## How it works

1. Drop files anywhere on the page, click to browse, or paste with Ctrl/⌘ + V.
2. Pick a quality or preset — or set an exact target size and let the tool find it.
3. Compress, compare before/after, and download — individually or as a ZIP.

## What PDF/A actually guarantees

PDF/A is a self-contained profile of PDF: every font embedded, colors defined by an included sRGB output intent, no external dependencies, no encryption — so the document renders identically decades from now. This tool produces PDF/A-2b (ISO 19005-2, level B), the variant registries and courts most commonly ask for. Note the standard forbids password protection — protect copies for distribution separately with [Protect PDF](https://compress-pro.com/protect-pdf), and keep the archival original open.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which PDF/A version do I get?

PDF/A-2b — visually reliable long-term archiving per ISO 19005-2, the profile most institutions request. The output declares its conformance in the document metadata.

### Why do archives insist on PDF/A?

Because ordinary PDFs can reference fonts and colors that disappear over the years. PDF/A embeds everything, so the file is guaranteed to look the same on any future system.

### Does the document change visually?

It should not — the conversion embeds resources and normalizes colors rather than redesigning pages. Files with exotic transparency or missing fonts get repaired to the closest conforming rendering.

### Is it private?

Yes. The document never leaves your browser — nothing is uploaded, and the server only delivers this page. That makes it safe for contracts, invoices, medical records — anything you would not email to a stranger. Want proof? Run one file through, switch your connection off, and run another — it still works.

## Related tools

- [Compress PDFs](https://compress-pro.com/compress-pdf)
- [Convert PDFs to grayscale](https://compress-pro.com/grayscale-pdf)
- [Merge PDF files](https://compress-pro.com/merge-pdf)

---

Part of [Compress Pro](https://compress-pro.com/) — every tool page has a markdown twin at `<page url>.md`. Full tool index: [llms.txt](https://compress-pro.com/llms.txt)