What does PDF/A stand for?

PDF/A means PDF for Archiving (ISO 19005). It is a strict subset of PDF that forbids features unsuitable for long-term preservation, such as font linking, encryption, and JavaScript.

What is the difference between PDF/A-1b and PDF/A-2b?

PDF/A-1b is based on PDF 1.4 and bans transparency, JavaScript and embedded files. PDF/A-2b is based on PDF 1.7, allows transparency and JPEG2000, and is the level many courts point to for scanned filings.

What do the letters a, b and u mean?

Level b (basic) preserves visual appearance. Level a (accessible) adds tagged structure for screen readers. Level u (Unicode) adds a Unicode text layer so text can be reliably extracted.

What is PDF/A — and why does your court care?

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PDF/A (the A is for Archiving, ISO standard 19005) is a PDF stripped down to features that survive decades of software change. A normal PDF can depend on fonts installed on your machine, on JavaScript, on live links, on encryption. A PDF/A has to render the same way in fifty years on a machine with none of those things — which is exactly the guarantee a court wants when it must be able to reopen your filing in 2076.

The parts

Part	Based on	Headline rules
PDF/A-1 (2005)	PDF 1.4	Fonts must be embedded. No transparency, no JavaScript, no embedded files, no encryption. LZW compression banned.
PDF/A-2 (2011)	PDF 1.7 (ISO 32000-1)	Everything from part 1, plus transparency allowed, JPEG2000 allowed, embedded files allowed if they are themselves PDF/A.
PDF/A-3 (2012)	PDF 1.7	Like part 2, but any file may be embedded (used for "PDF with source data" — e.g. the original Word file inside).
PDF/A-4 (2020)	PDF 2.0	Newer baseline; most courts' validators do not require it yet.

The levels: a, b, u

Level b (basic) guarantees the visual appearance is preserved. Level a (accessible) additionally requires a tagged structure tree so screen readers can navigate the document — a hard requirement if your court enforces accessibility rules. Level u (Unicode) requires a reliable Unicode text layer so the words can be extracted faithfully. The letters stack: PDF/A-2a means part 2 plus accessibility tagging.

What PDF/A forbids — the list that gets filings rejected

Non-embedded fonts. The classic. If the file says "Helvetica" but carries no Helvetica, a machine without it substitutes another font and your page breaks change. "Smallest file size" export settings cause exactly this.
Encryption or passwords. A clerk must be able to open the file. Period.
JavaScript and executable content. Interactive forms that calculate things are exactly what archivists don't want.
Embedded files and portfolios (in part 1; part 3 exists to allow them, but many court policies ban them anyway because clerks flatten or strip them).
Device-dependent color without an output intent — the file must say which ICC profile defines its colors.
Transparency in part 1 only.

How a file "claims" to be PDF/A

A PDF/A file must contain an XMP metadata stream with an identification like pdfaid:part 2 and pdfaid:conformance B, wired into the document catalog. No claim, no PDF/A — validators such as veraPDF read that claim and validate against the matching ruleset. A PDF renamed to motion-pdfa.pdf is not PDF/A; the metadata decides.

For scanned court filings, the practical target most often cited is PDF/A-2b with OCR'd searchable text. Text-based documents exported from Word or LibreOffice usually clear PDF/A-2b in one step — if fonts are embedded.

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EFileReady — general information about PDF/A and e-filing, not legal advice. Court rules differ and change. PDF/A checker · All guides · hello@toolve.pages.dev