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The file should declare PDF/UA conformance

PDF/UA check DOC_PDF_STANDARD · Document level · severity Low · PDF/UA Clause 5 PDF/UA identification

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Why it matters

This identifier lets software know the document was created to accessibility standards, enabling optimized viewing modes and validation tools.

What you will see

The XMP metadata carries no PDF/UA identifier, so tools cannot tell the file was authored to the standard.

How to fix

Add the PDF/UA identification schema (namespace http://www.aiim.org/pdfua/ns/id/) to the document's XMP metadata: set pdfuaid:part to 2 and pdfuaid:rev to the four-digit revision year. Update pdfuaid:part from 1 to 2 if the file carries a PDF/UA-1 identifier but is being validated against PDF/UA-2.

Step-by-step guide

  1. Complete remediation before adding the identifier: ISO 14289-2 Clause 5 states the pdfuaid values do not by themselves determine conformity - the identifier is a claim that the file meets the standard, not a fix.
  2. Add the PDF/UA identification schema (namespace http://www.aiim.org/pdfua/ns/id/, required prefix pdfuaid) to the XMP metadata stream of the document catalog.
  3. Set pdfuaid:part to 2 and pdfuaid:rev to the four-digit year of publication or revision (e.g. 2024), as required by Clause 5.
  4. Note that Acrobat Pro has no stock fixup for the PDF/UA-2 identifier. For PDF/UA-1 only, the Preflight fixup 'Set PDF/UA-1 entry' (All tools > Use print production > Preflight) writes pdfuaid:part 1.
  5. To write pdfuaid:part 2, create a custom Preflight fixup in Acrobat Pro that sets the XMP metadata properties, or re-export from a source application that supports PDF/UA-2 identification.
  6. If the file already carries a PDF/UA-1 identifier (EQChecker reports a warning when validating against UA-2), update pdfuaid:part from 1 to 2 only after confirming the file actually meets the PDF/UA-2 requirements.

Verify: Re-run the EQChecker scan; DOC_PDF_STANDARD passes when pdfuaid:part is 2 (a PDF/UA-1 identifier yields a warning, a missing identifier an error).

Note: Never stamp the identifier onto a non-conforming file. Conformity is determined by Clause 6 requirements (ISO 32000-2, ISO/TS 32005, and Clause 8), not by the metadata claim.

WCAG success criteria

No WCAG success criterion maps cleanly to this check — it is a PDF/UA structural requirement. The PDF/UA clause above is the normative reference.

Standards

This check contributes to the following standards:

PDF/UA

Standard Criteria
PDF/UA-2 (ISO 14289-2:2024) Clause 5 PDF/UA identification

References