Is it allowed to stamp documents which have a pdf/a format?

Aspose.PDF Product Family
1

I would like to open a support case with Aspose regarding the stamping of PDF/A documents. I want to find out if this is permissible and how to approach it. Internally, we often archive signed documents and, upon re-viewing them, place a stamp in the footer to clarify that this version is a copy of the original and who created it. Are there any legal issues with this procedure? Does anyone here have expertise on this?

2

@douart

Thanks for the report. I have not confirmed this yet and can only confirm it after reproducing on our side. I need a bit more information to answer precisely for Aspose.PDF when converting pdfa to pdf.

  • Which PDF/A conformance level are the documents (e.g., PDF/A‑1b, PDF/A‑2, PDF/A‑3)?
  • How are you applying the stamp (visible annotation, added text layer, image, etc.)?
  • Do you need the file to remain a valid PDF/A after stamping, and must existing digital signatures stay intact?
  • Which Aspose.PDF version are you planning to use for this operation?

A support engineer will review your answers and get back to you in this thread.

Once I have the missing details, I’ll try to reproduce this. If I can confirm it, I’ll log it internally and follow up here.

A support engineer will follow up in this thread if needed.

3

Thank you so much for your fast response. I will need some time to clarify that on my site. I will answer your questions asap

4

@douart

I understand you’d like to know whether you can stamp a PDF/A document.

To give you an accurate answer, could you please provide the following details?

  • Which PDF/A conformance level the source files use (e.g., PDF/A‑1b, PDF/A‑2, PDF/A‑3)?
  • How you plan to apply the stamp (visible annotation, added text layer, image, etc.)?
  • Whether the resulting file must remain a valid PDF/A and keep any existing digital signatures intact.
  • The version of Aspose.PDF you intend to use for this operation.

Once I have this information, I can reproduce the scenario and confirm the best approach.

5

Hi,

Thank you for your support. As requested, please find the details regarding our current setup and requirements:

PDF/A Conformance Level:
We are already using the solution in production and our documents are PDF/A‑1b.

Stamping Method:
We are using the logic described here:

This means we apply the stamp as a text stamp (visible text layer).

PDF/A Validity and Digital Signatures:
Yes, the resulting file must remain a valid PDF/A document.
Additionally, when we refer to signed documents, we explicitly mean digitally signed documents. These signatures must remain intact, as the files are stored in our existing archive system.

Aspose.PDF Version:
We are currently using Aspose.PDF version 25.4.

Could you please let us know whether it is possible to schedule a call with a support engineer to review our scenario in more detail?

If you need anything else to reproduce our setup, feel free to let me know.

Best regards,

6

@douart

As per Adobe guidelines for Signed and PDF/A compliant PDF documents, any change in the files will revoke its validity. If it is really important for you to stamp the documents, it is recommended to stamp them first and then convert them into PDF/A format. Signing procedure should also be performed after stamping the files.

We are willing to perform further investigation in case you need to stick with existing procedure. Please share some sample PDF files along with sample code snippet that you are using. We will generate an investigation ticket in our issue tracking system and share the ID with you.