PDF/A Validation Tool (ISO 19005) — Check PDF’s PDF/A Compliance

PDF/A Validation Tool: What does it do?

This tool is a pdf/a validator / pdf/a compliance check tool that reports which rule has been violated on which page/object without leaving it at a “pass/fail” level. PDF/A is a restricted subset of PDF for long-term archiving. 

Why is PDF/A validation necessary?

It is not enough to say, “I converted it to PDF/A.” What is critical in archiving processes (institutional archiving, e-archive document, legal retention) is that the file is truly compliant with the standard. PDF/A prohibits some PDF features and mandates others (e.g., no encryption, all fonts embedded, XMP metadata). 

Supported PDF/A Versions and Compliance Levels

The tool validates targeting different versions and levels of PDF/A:

• PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, PDF/A-3, PDF/A-4 (the standard’s multi-part series structure) 
• Compliance levels (examples):
  • A (Accessible / the “tighter” level with full tagging requirements)
  • B (Basic / basic visual preservation)
  • U (Unicode text mapping focused)
• Sub-levels seen in the PDF/A-4 family: PDF/A-4E, PDF/A-4F (for scenarios like appendices/engineering). 

Note: Which profile is “correct” depends on the intended use. The tool makes this selectable.

What checks does the tool perform? (details)

The following checks are the backbone of PDF/A validation; the tool tests them individually and writes violations to the report:

1) Encryption and access restrictions

PDF/A prohibits the use of encryption (encryption) to guarantee long-term access. 

2) Fonts

It is a critical requirement that the fonts used in PDF/A are embedded (embedded fonts / font embedding); fonts cannot be “linked” from outside. 

3) Color management and ICC profiles

For archiving, color behavior must be deterministic:

• Controls such as the requirement for ICC color profile / output intent
• Typical errors such as producing incompatibility if there is no ICC profile, especially for CMYK content

4) XMP metadata and PDF/A identity

It is not enough for the PDF/A document to state that it is PDF/A; the correct identity information (pdfaid:part, pdfaid:conformance, etc.) must be present in the XMP metadata in a standard-compliant manner. 

5) Prohibited/limited PDF features

Depending on the PDF/A profile, the tool typically checks for:

• External resource references (external content dependency)
• Some annotation/form behaviors
• Transparency and layering types (profile-based restrictions)
• File attachments: rules for profiles like PDF/A-3 and PDF/A-4F (permissions/format)

Output: What does it provide to the User?

The tool does not produce an “audit score”; it provides direct decisions and evidence:

1. Result: PASS / FAIL + detected PDF/A profile (e.g., PDF/A-2U)
2. PDF/A error report: violations based on rules
   • Error code / description
   • Related object (page/object id)
   • Recommendation (e.g., “embed font”, “remove encryption”, “add ICC output intent”, “correct XMP metadata”)
3. Report download: as PDF/A report / JSON report / XML report (and optionally readable HTML)
4. Batch validation (batch pdf/a validation): Upload multiple PDFs and get a result list + batch report at once

Usage Flow

1. Upload PDF
2. Select target profile (e.g., PDF/A-1B, PDF/A-2U, PDF/A-3B, PDF/A-4)
3. Press Validate
4. Result screen:
   • Compliance status
   • Violation list (in order of priority)
   • “Download report” (JSON/XML)
5. If you wish, re-check after correction with “Re-validate”

Infrastructure recommendation (validation engine)

The industry standard approach for this work is validation with purpose-driven PDF/A validators like veraPDF; it clearly states that veraPDF covers PDF/A parts and compliance levels. 

FAQ (short but clear)

What is the difference between PDF/A and normal PDF difference?

PDF/A is a restricted PDF for long-term archiving; it includes rules such as fonts being embedded, no encryption, and metadata. 

It says “PDF/A” but why does it come out as FAIL?

Some producers stamp the XMP label and pass; if real rules like font/ICC/encryption are broken, the validator catches this. 

Does PDF/A validation convert to PDF/A?

This tool validates and reports; conversion is a separate tool (PDF/A Conversion). Validation proves whether conversion was truly successful.