Before you submit your thesis, check the PDF itself: page numbers in the right place, fonts embedded, margins and line spacing as required, a file size under your university's limit, and metadata that names you and your title correctly. Formatting rejections are the most avoidable delay in the whole submission process — this checklist removes them.
Universities reject theses for boring, fixable reasons — and every rejection costs days. Requirements differ between institutions, so always confirm your own university's official guide; use this table as the universal spine. Named portals such as uni-assist, UCAS, Studielink or Campus France appear here only as use-case framing — always use the exact requirements your own institution publishes.
| Check | How to pass it | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Page numbers | Front matter in roman numerals, body in arabic, no number on the title page | Add page numbers for thesis |
| Fonts embedded | Export with fonts embedded; test on another computer | Re-export from Word/LaTeX if glyphs break |
| Margins + spacing | Match the official guide exactly, including binding margin | Check in the PDF, not the editor |
| File size | Compress images before export; compress the PDF if still over | Compress PDF |
| Figures + tables | Every figure legible, captioned, and listed if required | Zoom to 100% in the PDF |
| Metadata | Title, author and keywords set in document properties | Edit PDF metadata |
| Page order | Title, abstract, contents, chapters, references, appendices | Reorder PDF pages |
A master's student in Amsterdam exports a 120-page thesis and runs the checklist: page numbers are missing on three chapter openings, two figures use a font that does not embed, and the file is 48 MB against a 20 MB portal limit. She fixes the numbering, re-exports with embedded fonts, and compresses the PDF to 16 MB — then reads the final PDF page by page. Submission is accepted first time, with no formatting correction round.
Your thesis is unpublished research — uploading it to a free converter hands a copy to a third party before your university has even accepted it. Browser-only tools avoid that entirely: page numbers, compression, reordering and metadata edits all happen in your tab. The same logic applies to draft chapters shared with supervisors: send the PDF, not a link to a server-processed copy. For organising the research behind the thesis, see how to organise research papers as PDF.
Answer block: PDF/A, the archival flavour of PDF standardised as ISO 19005, is the format many universities and archives require for long-term thesis storage — if your institution asks for PDF/A, export it directly rather than converting a finished PDF afterwards (source: ISO 19005, PDF/A standard).
Submission rules differ by university, faculty and degree level — always follow your institution's official thesis guide where it differs from this general checklist. Named portals are mentioned only as use-case examples, never as sources of requirements. Researched by PDF Buddy Free Team · Last updated 30 October 2026.
Follow your university's guide: most accept standard PDF, while some require PDF/A for archiving. If PDF/A is required, export it directly from your editor rather than converting a finished PDF afterwards.
Use a tool that supports different numbering for front matter and body — our add page numbers for thesis page is built for exactly that, with roman numerals up front and arabic numbers in the body.
Usually uncompressed images: a single full-page photo can add megabytes. Compress images before export, then compress the PDF itself if it still exceeds your portal's limit.
Yes — without embedding, a reader on another computer substitutes fonts and your layout shifts. Export with fonts embedded and test the PDF on a different machine before submitting.
Your full name, the exact thesis title and keywords, set in the document properties. It helps libraries catalogue the work and prevents mix-ups between similarly titled theses.
Yes, if you compress sensibly: image-heavy pages shrink well, while text pages barely change. Always read the compressed PDF afterwards and check figures are still legible.
Upload-based tools keep a copy on their servers — a real risk for unpublished research. Prefer browser-only tools where the file never leaves your device.