wire / magic / pdf

PDF signature (%PDF-)

A PDF file begins with the ASCII header '%PDF-' followed by a version number such as '1.7'. The percent sign marks a comment line per the PDF/PostScript syntax. Files normally end with the '%%EOF' marker.

magic kind signature status standard verification verified tier B file-signature@1

aka: PDF magic · %PDF

file signature

magic: 25 50 44 46 2D @ offset 0

ascii: %PDF-

trailer: 25 25 45 4F 46

.pdf application/pdf

spec: ISO 32000-1:2008, Section 7.5.2

Full header is '%PDF-M.N' where M.N is the version, e.g. '%PDF-1.7' = 25 50 44 46 2D 31 2E 37.
The trailer '%%EOF' (25 25 45 4F 46) ends the file; some files have trailing bytes after it.
Conforming readers may scan the first 1024 bytes for the header rather than requiring it at exact offset 0.

provenance

source: https://opensource.adobe.com/dc-acrobat-sdk-docs/pdfstandards/PDF32000_2008.pdf
version: PDF 32000-1:2008 (ISO 32000-1), Section 7.5.2 File Header
retrieved: 2026-05-29 · updated: 2026-05-29T00:00:00Z

agent: curl -H 'accept: application/json' wire.phall.io/magic/pdf or /magic/pdf.json