Create PDF Documents

PDF/A  Introduction -  Document Preservation In the future, the Judicial Branch will require that all electronically filed documents uploaded in e-filing be in the PDF/A format. Currently, the system accepts both PDF and PDF/A documents. This move to a PDF/A standard is viewed as a necessary step to enhance security and to improve the archiving and preservation of case-related documents. For more information on PDFs, go to the Frequently Asked Questions.

How are PDF/A documents created?

1) Creation from electronic documents:
PDF/A documents can be created by most word processor programs. The necessary instructions for creating PDF/A documents are given at:  For information about creating PDF/A documents with Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional or Standard, see Creating PDF/A documents with Acrobat.

2) Creation from Judicial Branch fillable forms, other programs or scanned documents
To keep the sizes of files down and to make sure that files are text-searchable, PDF/A documents should ideally be created using a word processing program (like WordPerfect, Microsoft Word or OpenOffice Writer), rather than being printed out in hard copy and scanned. Some scanning software is capable of directly creating PDF/A format documents.  If your software does not have the capability to save in PDF/A format, the document may be saved (like printing) to PDF/A using a PDF Creator Tool or it may need to be scanned as a regular PDF and then converted/saved to PDF/A.

If you have Adobe Acrobat Professional, here is an example of how to use that product with your scanner.
Special Considerations with using PDF/A

PDF/A is for the creation of archival documents, similar to paper documents to make sure that they will be readable in the future, regardless of what fonts or software are on a computer when a user subsequently views the documents. In essence, PDF/A is similar to a frozen image of your document. This is desirable so the Judicial Branch can ensure court documents are retained in the original format as submitted.

With this in mind, it may be important for you to retain your original source document in your word processor or file system as the PDF/A document is usually used as a final static copy for submission to the court.
An important consideration in the creation of PDF/A documents is attachments and whether the hyperlinks they contain are �active�; see Attachments and Hyperlinks in PDF/A Documents

3) Other PDF/A Compliant products
Many commercial products can create PDF/A documents (many are listed here). The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch does not recommend any particular products.