Saving a Word document as a PDF is enough to send it. Keeping it for ten years, filing it with an authority or handing it to an archive is a different job, and that is where PDF/A comes in. PDF/A is a PDF restricted by ISO 19005 so that it never depends on anything outside the file: fonts, colour definitions and metadata are all inside. This page turns DOCX into PDF/A-2b and checks every result against the standard.
Why PDF/A rather than a plain PDF
A plain PDF may legally leave fonts out. Microsoft’s own help notes that when a font cannot be embedded, a PDF reader “might substitute another font”. Today that goes unnoticed because the font is on your computer. On another machine in 2040, it may not be. PDF/A forbids exactly these loose ends:
- all fonts embedded in the file, and they must be fonts that may be embedded,
- colours defined independently of the device,
- no encryption, no JavaScript, no audio or video,
- no links to external content the page needs to display,
- descriptive metadata in a standard format inside the file.
Typical reasons people need it: a records policy at work, an authority or archive that stores final documents as PDF/A, a university repository, or a court portal that lists it among accepted formats.
What happens to your Word document
- Layout follows the document: page size, margins, headers and footers, tables, pictures and page numbers.
- Fonts used in the document are embedded in the PDF/A, so the file looks the same anywhere.
- A font we do not have is replaced with a substitute. The common case is Aptos, the default font in Microsoft 365 since 2023. A substitute has slightly different letter widths, so a line can wrap earlier and a page break can move. Check the last line of each page and any one-page form.
- The check: every result is tested by an independent validator against ISO 19005-2, level B. The download step shows “Verified: meets PDF/A-2b” or the number of rules the file does not meet.
The same works for DOC, ODT, RTF, spreadsheets (XLSX, XLS, ODS) and presentations (PPTX, PPT, ODP). The result has the usual .pdf extension.
Fonts changed after converting Word to PDF/A
Look at the font names in Word (Home, Font). If the document uses Aptos or another font that came with Microsoft 365 or was installed separately, our result uses a substitute and line breaks can shift. When the layout must be exact, for instance a form that has to stay on one page, export from your own Word, which embeds the fonts you have installed (see below), or check the page breaks in our result before you file it.
A signature is needed
Sign the PDF/A, not the Word file you converted before. Any change to a signed PDF, including converting it, makes the signature invalid.
The portal asks for PDF/A-1 or PDF/A-3
We produce PDF/A-2b only. PDF/A-1 is the older part 1 based on PDF 1.4; PDF/A-3 allows attachments of any type and is used for e-invoices with embedded XML. Read the requirement carefully: many systems that say “PDF/A” accept PDF/A-2. The Library of Congress summarises the differences.
Word’s built-in PDF/A option
Word for Windows can do it itself: File, Save As, choose PDF, click Options and tick “ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)”. The Microsoft support article lists the option. It uses the fonts on your computer, so Aptos stays Aptos. Two things to know: the option name says ISO 19005-1, so you get PDF/A-1, and Word does not report whether the file passed a conformance check.
Use our converter when Word is not at hand (Linux, Chromebook, phone), when you have a batch of documents (up to 10 at once, each up to 100 MB, no registration), or when you want a conformance report for each file. The upload is deleted right after conversion, the PDF/A after 14 days.
When a plain PDF is enough
Sending a CV, an offer or a draft for review does not need PDF/A. Nobody will check the file against a standard; use DOCX to PDF. If you already have a PDF or a scan to archive, PDF to PDF/A adds a searchable text layer to scanned pages. Format details: DOCX, PDF.