What do you mean by editable?
Usually PDFs are ReadOnly
Had you added input fields?

Access only exports static, read-only PDFs. It doesn't create editable ones with fields unless you specifically design the report with form fields and then use something like Adobe Acrobat to enable editing. Most PDF viewers, especially in your browser, will always show the file as read-only. If you need an editable PDF, you'll have to either add fields in Acrobat or use the Microsoft Print to PDF option, which produces a different type of output. There are Acrobat plugins for Microsoft Office, but they only work with the paid version of Acrobat, which I've never used.

Alex Hi, let me rephrase it, the PDF files made using VBA can't be edited later.
Until early may-2025, all pdf files made with vba option could be open in a PDF editor program and be modified like adding signature or password protection. Now we can't modify the files with PDF editors.
(We use Foxit Phantom PDF but some customers use Acrobat and are reporting same issue).
It makes wonder if there was an update or something like that.
As alternative, we're printing manually to pdf (the files created by this method have no issues), but kind of defeat the purpose of automating file creation using vba.

Jose These are the properties of a file recently created file which we can't edit on a PDF editor program

Jose Second image are the file the properties of a file which opens in the pdf editor without any problem.
I can't see any difference.

Are you sure this wasn't a change made to your PDF editing software and not to Microsoft Access? Because as far as I'm aware, a PDF is a PDF as far as Microsoft Access is concerned.

Hi Richard,
I don't believe there is a problem with the PDF editing software we use for a couple of reasons, first we can open any file created before may with our Access solution and none have any issue (I can go back years, open any file and they're just fine). Second, when I print manually from Access using MS to PDF, the resulting file works fine.
Honestly, it isn't big issue as now, but more of a nuance because we have to print manually the files we need to sign electronically.
Now that I think of it, I'll do a quick test by making a new access test database and exporting to pdf using vba and see what happens.

Jose  Go to Foxit or Adobe Acrobat and check the security settings of the PDFs.  An uneditable PDF may have restricted editing permissions or such.

Kevin That's the thing (the crazy thing), the pdfs aren't secured or restricted in any way.
Yesterday I did a quick test using a new db exporting to pdf and the pdf file is having same issue.
Next I'll try from another computer and see what happens.

Jose  Another thing to try is a third-party PDF driver that allows automation.
I believe Bullzip has automation, but I've never tried.  The acFormatPDF option uses the built-in PDF driver of Access, and you want to eliminate (or confirm) the possibility of its being the culprit.

Jose Thanks everyone for the comments, I found the issue with the PDF files after exporting to PDF from word. The "issue" is not only with Access, but Office 365.
When Office exports the file, it saves it as PDF/A (an ISO PDF format) which gives the files a read-only behavior when you open it like the file is protected/"secured".
Found 2 ways to fix the issue, one (depending on your pdf program) is disabling the feature to see PDFs on PDF/A mode.
The second is going to word (in my case) try to export any file to pdf, when the file picker opens up, click options ---> PDF Options ---> uncheck PDF/A complaint.
So far it seems that behavior carries to Access and I'm back having no issues with the PDF files.