Understanding PDF/A: The Archival Format for Long-Term Document Storage

In an age where information is almost entirely digital, preserving documents for the long term has become both a necessity and a challenge. Whether you’re managing business contracts, legal records, academic research, or government forms, ensuring that your files remain accessible and intact for decades is a critical concern.

That’s where PDF/A comes in — a specialized version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) designed specifically for long-term document archiving and digital preservation.

PDF/A stands for PDF for Archiving. It’s an ISO-standardized subset of PDF that eliminates features unsuitable for long-term preservation, such as encryption and external content dependencies. The goal is to create a self-contained file that can be opened and read the same way today, tomorrow, or 30 years from now — regardless of software or hardware changes.

In essence, PDF/A is your digital time capsule.

📖 PDF/A is recognized under ISO 19005 standards and is widely used in industries that require document integrity and reliability over decades.

While standard PDFs are excellent for everyday use, they may include elements that make them unreliable for archiving. Here’s how PDF/A differs:

By removing risky dependencies and embedding all resources (fonts, images, metadata), PDF/A ensures that the document will always display exactly as intended — no matter where or when it is opened.

Most people don’t think twice when saving a PDF. But over time, file formats evolve, fonts become unavailable, and software changes — making older PDFs potentially unreadable or altered.

PDF/A is built to prevent these issues, ensuring that:

• 📜 Legal contracts retain formatting and signatures for decades
• 🏥 Medical and patient records remain accessible for audits or compliance
• 💼 Corporate documentation like annual reports, policies, and financials stay unaltered
• 🎓 Research papers and academic theses remain verifiable over time

In regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, government, and law, using PDF/A is often required to comply with data retention policies and audit standards.

There isn’t just one PDF/A — over time, the standard has evolved to support new use cases. Here's a breakdown of the key versions:

PDF/A-1 (ISO 19005-1)

• The original standard (2005)
• Ideal for scanned documents and simple records
• No support for transparency or layers
• Great for legal archives and basic long-term storage

PDF/A-2 (ISO 19005-2)

• Adds support for:
  • Transparency and layers
  • JPEG2000 compression
  • Embedded OpenType fonts
• Allows embedding of other PDF/A files
• Recommended for modern document creation and editing

PDF/A-3 (ISO 19005-3)

• Same as PDF/A-2, but allows embedding of any file type (e.g., Excel, XML)
• Used in workflows that need to archive supporting data alongside documents
• ⚠️ Use with caution: Embedded files may not be viewable in the future if their formats become obsolete

✅ Best Practice: Use PDF/A-2 for most long-term archiving needs unless you have a specific requirement for attachments.

Why choose PDF/A over regular PDF for important files? Here are the core advantages:

Long-Term Reliability

Because PDF/A eliminates risky features and embeds all necessary resources, your files will still work even after decades of software changes.

Universal Accessibility

PDF/A documents open on most modern PDF readers and are supported by all major long-term document management systems.

Compliance-Ready

Used by:

• 📚 Libraries and archives
• 🏛️ Government agencies
• 🏥 Hospitals and insurance companies
• 💼 Enterprises with retention policies

PDF/A helps you comply with GDPR, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and other data preservation laws.

Searchable and Indexed

PDF/A supports metadata, bookmarks, and OCR (optical character recognition), making files easy to search, organize, and retrieve.

Creating a PDF/A file is easier than you think. Most modern software offers options for exporting in PDF/A format.

Tools That Support PDF/A:

• Microsoft Word / Excel / PowerPoint: File → Save As → PDF → Options → ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)
• Adobe Acrobat Pro: File → Save As Other → Archivable PDF (PDF/A)
• LibreOffice: File → Export As → Export as PDF → PDF/A checkbox

🔍 Tip: Always validate your PDF/A files using tools like VeraPDF or Adobe Preflight to ensure compliance.

While creating PDF/A files, avoid:

• Embedding multimedia (audio/video)
• Adding JavaScript or dynamic content
• Linking to external content (images, stylesheets)
• Encrypting or password-protecting files
• Using non-embedded fonts

These actions can cause your file to fail PDF/A compliance checks.

As businesses and institutions move toward fully digital ecosystems, digital preservation is no longer optional — it’s essential.

PDF/A offers a future-proof way to store and manage documents that must remain usable and verifiable over time. Whether you're digitizing legal files, preserving historical records, or complying with regulations, PDF/A is the gold standard for archiving.

🕓 Preserve your documents today — so they’re still readable tomorrow.

Start now: Use Forever PDF to manage, convert, and protect your important documents with ease.