Featured

Government & Public Sector

Publish and preserve public records: OCR scanned documents into searchable text, redact and sanitize metadata, apply Bates or page numbering, validate PDF/A archives, and linearize for fast public access.

Best for: Government agencies, public sector, records management

The usual order: OCR the scans, validate PDF/A for the archive, number the pages, redact the sensitive fields, then sign and distribute.

How to use

1Scan or import records and OCR them into searchable text
2Redact personal data and sanitize hidden metadata
3Number and merge into a public or archival version
4Archive to validated PDF/A and linearize for faster access

Related tools

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Convert a PDF to PDF/A

Convert PDF to PDF/A locally with an embedded sRGB ICC or CMYK named condition; device color space stats and validation limits are reported honestly.

Cloud Processing (Encrypted)

Validate PDF/A compliance

Check archive submissions against PDF/A before they are filed — validation runs server-side over an encrypted channel (account required, free tier: 1 cloud task / 24h, deleted within 24 hours).

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

OCR a PDF

Make scanned records and forms searchable for archives and public-records work — OCR runs in the browser, free, so files never leave the workstation.

Cloud Processing (Encrypted)

Redact a PDF

Redact PDF text at the byte level — matched text is deleted from the content stream with metadata purge, while unmatched text stays vector and searchable. Processing runs on PDFLean's encrypted cloud servers and uses your cloud quota.

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Redact PII from a PDF

Automatically redact PII from PDF files — ID numbers, phone numbers, credit cards, emails and custom keywords are detected locally, then permanently removed.

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Remove metadata from a PDF

Remove metadata from PDF files — title, author, subject, keywords and XMP are cleared before sharing; for scripts and attachments use Sanitize.

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Sanitize a PDF

Sanitize PDF files for safe sharing — strip annotations, scripts, embedded files, auto-actions and metadata, all locally.

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Add Bates numbering to a PDF

Number discovery and correspondence packets for traceable disclosure — Bates stamping runs in your browser, free, with no upload.

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Add page numbers to a PDF

Add page numbers to PDF pages with six margin positions, 1,2,3 or 1/10 formats and a custom starting number — runs in your browser.

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Compress a PDF

Compress PDF files in your browser — light lossless, recommended, and extreme tiers, plus a target-size mode with real-time stats on size and savings (local and free, no upload for files up to 10MB); larger files can use the Pro cloud path (sign-in required).

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Sign a PDF

Sign PDF pages with a typed or hand-drawn signature stamp — basic self-signing that runs fully locally.

Cloud Processing (Encrypted)

Sign a PDF with a digital certificate

Apply PAdES digital signatures to approvals and notices — cloud signing over an encrypted channel, account required, free tier: 1 cloud task / 24h, files deleted within 24 hours.

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Merge PDF files

Merge PDF files in the order you choose — combine multiple documents into one, right in your browser with no upload (combined size up to 10MB); larger totals can use the Pro cloud large-file merge on the page (sign-in required).

Local Processing (Offline Capable)

Split a PDF

Split PDF by page range, or split every N pages, per page, or into N parts — all locally in your browser.

Cloud Processing (Encrypted)

Linearize a PDF (Fast Web View)

Publish records online with an instant first page — linearize with the local qpdf engine first (free, no upload); the encrypted cloud fallback needs an account and deletes files within 24 hours.

Ready when you are

Runs in your browser whenever possible — no signup needed to start.

Open Convert PDF to PDF/A

PDFLean is a productivity tool and does not provide legal, medical, regulatory, or compliance advice. Review outputs before relying on them for regulated or high-stakes decisions.