# PDF/A Validate Pre-validate PDF documents for PDF/A archival compliance > Canonical page: https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-a-validate - **Category:** Document Tools - **Keywords:** pdf, pdf-a, pdfa, archive, iso 19005, validate, compliance ## Overview Structural PDF/A pre-flight check: XMP claim, encryption, font embedding, JavaScript and forbidden features. ## Inputs - **PDF 文件** (file) ## When to use - Before submitting digital documents to government, legal, or institutional archives that mandate PDF/A compliance. - When verifying if a generated PDF contains forbidden elements like JavaScript, external references, or encryption that prevent long-term preservation. - To check if all fonts are fully embedded and XMP metadata is correctly structured within your PDF files. ## How it works - Upload the PDF document you want to verify for archival compliance. - The tool parses the file structure, checking the XMP metadata, font tables, encryption status, and interactive elements. - It evaluates these properties against PDF/A (ISO 19005) specifications. - The tool outputs a JSON report detailing the compliance verdict, claimed profile, and counts of critical errors, warnings, and passed checks. ## Use cases - Pre-flighting legal briefs and court filings to guarantee they meet electronic archiving standards. - Auditing corporate document repositories to identify PDFs that lack embedded fonts or contain active scripts. - Verifying academic theses and research papers before uploading them to university digital libraries. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does this tool check for PDF/A compliance? It checks for embedded fonts, XMP metadata claims, encryption, JavaScript, external device-dependent colors, and other features restricted by ISO 19005. ### Does this tool modify my PDF file? No, this is a read-only validation tool that analyzes the structure of your PDF and returns a compliance report without altering the file. ### What does a 'non-compliant' verdict mean? It means the PDF contains elements (like missing fonts or active encryption) that violate PDF/A standards, making it unsuitable for long-term digital archiving. ### Can I validate password-protected or encrypted PDFs? Encrypted PDFs are automatically flagged as non-compliant because PDF/A standards prohibit encryption to ensure future readability. ### What PDF/A profiles are supported for validation? The tool checks general structural requirements across common PDF/A profiles (such as PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, and PDF/A-3) by identifying forbidden features and missing metadata. ## Related tools - [PDF Accessibility Check](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-accessibility-check): Audit PDF documents for accessibility features like tagging, language and PDF/UA metadata - [OCR PDF to Structured JSON Bridge](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/ocr-pdf-to-structured-json-bridge): Extract the PDF text layer with geometry (lines by y-position, tables by column gaps, headings by font size, colon key-value pairs), then fill a user-supplied JSON Schema field by field — labels matched by normalized keys, values coerced to declared types and validated with ajv. - [PDF Logical Structure Tree WCAG Role Mapping Validator](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-logical-structure-tree-validator): Audit a tagged PDF's logical structure tree against PDF/UA-1 (ISO 14289-1) semantics: RoleMap termination, H1-H6 heading hierarchy, Alt text on Figure/Formula, RFC 3066 language tags, illegal nesting, and structure-vs-content MCID reading order — each finding labeled with its Matterhorn Protocol checkpoint. - [PDF/A Convert](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-a-convert): Convert PDF documents to a self-declared PDF/A archival profile with zero external dependencies - [PDF Formula Extractor (LaTeX / MathML / MathJax) with AMS Equation-Number Preservation](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-latex-mathml-mathjax-formula-extractor-and-equation-number-preserver): Detect and reconstruct embedded math formulas from vector PDFs: math-font recognition (CMMI/CMSY/CMEX, STIX, Cambria Math), Unicode math, super/subscripts and stacked fractions, AMS equation numbers ((2a)/(2b) subequations) preserved; outputs copyable LaTeX, presentation MathML (MathJax/KaTeX-compatible) and a downloadable .tex bundle. - [PDF Text Extractor](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-text-extractor): Extract text content from PDF documents with support for page selection, formatting options, and multi-language processing - [PDF to Word](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-to-word): Convert PDF files to editable Word documents (.docx) by extracting text and preserving basic formatting - [PDF to Text Advanced](https://elysiatools.com/en/tools/pdf-to-text-advanced): Advanced PDF to text converter with page selection, formatting options, and metadata extraction ## Samples - [PDF Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/pdf-samples): Generated PDF samples from tools dated 2026-02-01 to 2026-02-10 - [Markdown Slide Deck Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/md-slide-deck-to-pdf): Remark/Marp style Markdown slide decks for testing PDF export layouts - [ISO Viewer Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/iso-viewer-samples): A ISO archive sample for in-browser preview - [Time Zone Workflow Scheduler ICS Samples](https://elysiatools.com/en/samples/time-zone-workflow-scheduler-ics-samples): ICS files generated in the same structure returned by the Time Zone Workflow Scheduler, with multiple VEVENT meeting candidates exported from overlap windows ## Related content - [PDF Archival, Accessibility, and Trust Review](https://elysiatools.com/en/hubs/pdf-archival-accessibility-trust): Clean scanned pages, add OCR, prepare PDF/A files, inspect accessibility structure, add bookmarks, and verify signatures before archival handoff.