PDF FAQs Page 3 of 15
Prohibited PDF/A Document Intelligence Elements. The following elements must not be used in PDF/A
documents submitted to the Florida Courts: digital signatures, digital notarizations, embedded attachments,
comments, annotations, hidden deleted item (these should be purged), embedded non-persistent external
hyperlinks, embedded thumbnails, form fields and actions, JavaScript, and embedded non-display data.
Encryption Prohibited. A compliant PDF/A file must be open and available to anyone or any software that
processes the file. User IDs and passwords may not be embedded.
Are PDF/A files much larger than normal PDFs?
A PDF/A file might be slightly larger than the original PDF file it was created from (provided they do not use
different image resolutions or compression methods). Fonts are embedded in a PDF/A file (which is often also
the case in normal PDF files) and more information is stored in the metadata. Make sure that all font
subsets are included in your PDF/A file so that they display properly when opened.
Can normal PDF files be converted to PDF/A?
In general, PDF files can be converted to PDF/A. However, depending on the contents of the source PDF and
PDF/A target selection, it is possible that some features cannot be transferred to a PDF/A file.
How can I tell if a font is protected by copyright and cannot be copied into a PDF/A file?
Usually a program that creates PDF/A files will give a warning if a font file cannot be embedded. The problem
is not very prevalent with standard western fonts, since most font developers allow their fonts to be embedded.
However, some fonts (including many Japanese fonts) are copyrighted and cannot be embedded.
What happens if I submit a document that is not in PDF/A format?
The Portal will check each document submitted and display an error message if the document is not in PDF/A
format. This will not disrupt the filing of your document. At this time, this is informational only.
When will the PDF/A format be required?
Once approved by the Florida Supreme Court as the document standard, PDF/A as the required format will be
phased in over the next two years. Clerks are required to be able to store PDF/A as the required format by
June 2021. However most have requested an extension of that deadline. To date the latest extension given
was to June 30, 2022.
Will digital signatures be accepted in a PDF/A document?
The Portal will not pass digital signatures and digital notarizations which require an encryption key.
When PDF/A is the required format, what will happen if I submit a Word document?
Documents filed through the Portal will be provided to the clerk in PDF/A format when the clerk is able to
receive and store a PDF/A document as follows:
• Documents filed in an approved PDF/A format will be provided to the clerk as originally filed.
• Documents filed in a word processing format will be converted to an approved PDF/A format.
• Documents filed in other searchable PDF formats will be converted to an approved PDF/A format.
• Documents filed in other non-searchable PDF formats will be rasterized (i.e. converted into bitmap file
format) as an approved PDF/A format.
• Digital signatures and digital notarizations will not be passed or maintained by the Portal.