PDF/A and PDF/UA: archival and accessible documents
4 February 2026 · 7 min read · Nextarp B.V.
Not every PDF is fit for every purpose. Two ISO standards - PDF/A for archiving and PDF/UA for accessibility - define what a document needs to remain readable for decades and usable by everyone. If you serve the public sector or keep long-term records, they are not optional.
PDF/A: built to last
PDF/A constrains a PDF so it renders identically far into the future: fonts are embedded, colour is device-independent, and features that depend on external resources or that could change (JavaScript, encryption, external links to content) are disallowed. The result is a self-contained document an archive can trust.
PDF/UA: usable by everyone
PDF/UA requires a properly tagged document - a logical structure of headings, paragraphs, lists and tables, with a defined reading order and alternative text for images. That structure is what lets a screen reader convey the document to a blind user, and it is increasingly a legal requirement for government communications.
Generating compliant output
- Embed every font the template uses.
- Author real headings and table structure, not visual imitations.
- Provide alt text for logos and images.
- Select the target conformance level (for example PDF/A-2 or PDF/UA) at generation time.
Why generate it, not convert it
Retrofitting accessibility onto a finished PDF is painful and lossy. Generating tagged, archival output from a structured template gets it right at the source - DocsNG can emit PDF/A and PDF/UA directly.
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