PDF Upload Errors (Error Codes)
PDF are complex documents in nature. There are thousands of various PDF Producers out there, all with different settings and processes for how they generate a final PDF.
If you already have a PDF that has been generated and our system isn't able to accept it do to a, that could be the cause of one or more of the following reasons. Additionally, there might be PDF's that our website accepts but we're unable to print (such as security restrictions that specifically prevent printing a document).
Below are the most common issues we hear about, along with questions to ask to help you troubleshoot:
Security Restrictions
If a PDF has any security restrictions enabled on it (such as it being password protected or access protections as a couple examples) , there will be issues with us handling the file. We see this happen quite often, particularly with IRS documents. In these cases, the owner of the document should decide if the security restrictions options can be removed and, if so, do so prior to upload.
This might be able to be done in an application such as Adobe Acrobat by navigating to the document properties. Otherwise the PDF author will need to assist.
Unembedded Information
Does the PDF have any unembedded information on it, such as fonts or comment boxes? We also see this happen quite often, particularly with IRS documents as well. This could be fillable fields in the document, comment boxes that were added over the top of the primary PDF file, and more.
Fonts that are unembedded can be seen in Adobe Acrobat by navigating to the document properties. Please note that this may not display all unembedded information that exists on the document. Click here to learn more about how to resolve this issue.
Electronic Fields
Does the PDF have any electronic fields in it such as signature fields, date fields, etc?
If any of the above of these are the case, it might be that the pdf isn't upload-able, or in some cases you might be able to upload it but we won't be able to print it.
There are also a few different pdf repair and experimenting tools on the PDF Tools page of our website, under My Account. You can experiment with these options but please review your document thoroughly before approving it in a job. Some of our tools repair files but remove offending data or pages.
PDF Error Codes
There are a number of specific error codes that could be applied to your file, some of which are universal and we may be currently unaware of all codes. This list is meant to be helpful but likely is not exhaustive:
Error Code 3835 - This is likely a critical error and is the result of corruption in the file. Please recreate the document and try again. If it's a large file, you may also want to break a multi-page pdf into smaller pdf documents and load the pages separately. This can also help you narrow down which pages are causing the error.
Error Codes 3833 and 3888 - These is likely related to security restrictions being present on the document. Review the security restrictions in the document properties to learn more.
Error Codes 9000 and 9001 - These are common error codes and can be the result of a number of reasons such as security restrictions being applied to the document, unembedded information, or the result of a PDF file being exported/authored incorrectly. If the latter, try re-exporting the file again. If that doesn't work, try saving the file as a PDF rather than exporting it as a PDF.
Error Code 4089 - This is likely due to an error with the way the document was converted to a PDF. Try re-saving or exporting the PDF once more to see if that resolves the issue.
Error Codes 925, 946, 413, 3903 - We've only seen these errors code on very rare occasions, and they could be related to any combination of the reasons above.