diff --git a/docs/release_notes.rst b/docs/release_notes.rst
index 518cef17..38229de0 100644
--- a/docs/release_notes.rst
+++ b/docs/release_notes.rst
@@ -5,10 +5,11 @@ OCRmyPDF uses `semantic versioning <http://semver.org/>`_ for its command line i
 
 The OCRmyPDF package itself does not contain a public API, although it is fairly stable and breaking changes are usually timed with a major release. A future release will clearly define the stable public API.
 
-v5.3.4
+v5.4
 ------
 
 -   Change wording of a deprecation warning to improve clarity
+-   Added option to generate PDF/A-1b output if desired (``--output-type pdfa-1``); default remains PDF/A-2b generation
 -   Update documentation
 
 
diff --git a/ocrmypdf/__main__.py b/ocrmypdf/__main__.py
index 4d671ee5..9304c48e 100755
--- a/ocrmypdf/__main__.py
+++ b/ocrmypdf/__main__.py
@@ -130,12 +130,15 @@ parser.add_argument(
     '--image-dpi', metavar='DPI', type=int,
     help="For input image instead of PDF, use this DPI instead of file's.")
 parser.add_argument(
-    '--output-type', choices=['pdfa', 'pdf'], default='pdfa',
+    '--output-type', choices=['pdfa', 'pdf', 'pdfa-1', 'pdfa-2'], 
+    default='pdfa',
     help="Choose output type. 'pdfa' creates a PDF/A-2b compliant file for "
          "long term archiving (default, recommended) but may not suitable "
          "for users who want their file altered as little as possible. 'pdfa' "
          "also has problems with full Unicode text. 'pdf' attempts to "
-         "preserve file contents as much as possible.")
+         "preserve file contents as much as possible. 'pdf-a1' creates a "
+         "PDF/A1-b file. 'pdf-a2' is equivalent to 'pdfa'."
+         )
 
 # Use null string '\0' as sentinel to indicate the user supplied no argument,
 # since that is the only invalid character for filepaths on all platforms
@@ -759,7 +762,7 @@ def run_pipeline():
     if options.flowchart:
         _log.info("Flowchart saved to {}".format(options.flowchart))
     elif options.output_file != '-':
-        if options.output_type == 'pdfa':
+        if options.output_type.startswith('pdfa'):
             pdfa_info = file_claims_pdfa(options.output_file)
             if pdfa_info['pass']:
                 msg = 'Output file is a {} (as expected)'
@@ -767,7 +770,6 @@ def run_pipeline():
             else:
                 msg = 'Output file is okay but is not PDF/A (seems to be {})'
                 _log.warning(msg.format(pdfa_info['conformance']))
-
                 return ExitCode.invalid_output_pdf
         if not qpdf.check(options.output_file, _log):
             _log.warning('Output file: The generated PDF is INVALID')
diff --git a/ocrmypdf/exec/ghostscript.py b/ocrmypdf/exec/ghostscript.py
index 4190f9c4..5035abc9 100644
--- a/ocrmypdf/exec/ghostscript.py
+++ b/ocrmypdf/exec/ghostscript.py
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ def rasterize_pdf(input_file, output_file, xres, yres, raster_device, log,
 
 
 def generate_pdfa(pdf_pages, output_file, compression, log,
-                  threads=1, pdf_version='1.5'):
+                  threads=1, pdf_version='1.5', pdfa_part='2'):
     compression_args = []
     if compression == 'jpeg':
         compression_args = [
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ def generate_pdfa(pdf_pages, output_file, compression, log,
             "-sProcessColorModel=DeviceRGB"
         ] + compression_args + [
             "-dJPEGQ=95",
-            "-dPDFA=2",
+            "-dPDFA=" + pdfa_part,
             "-dPDFACompatibilityPolicy=1",
             "-sOutputFile=" + gs_pdf.name,
         ]
diff --git a/ocrmypdf/pipeline.py b/ocrmypdf/pipeline.py
index 487640c2..e23c085b 100644
--- a/ocrmypdf/pipeline.py
+++ b/ocrmypdf/pipeline.py
@@ -879,7 +879,8 @@ def merge_pages_ghostscript(
         output_file=output_file,
         compression=options.pdfa_image_compression,
         log=log,
-        threads=options.jobs or 1)
+        threads=options.jobs or 1,
+        pdfa_part=('1' if options.output_type == 'pdfa-1' else '2'))
 
 
 def merge_pages_qpdf(
@@ -1164,7 +1165,7 @@ def build_pipeline(options, work_folder, log, context):
         filter=formatter(r'\.repaired\.pdf'),
         output=os.path.join(work_folder, 'pdfa.ps'),
         extras=[log, context])
-    task_generate_postscript_stub.active_if(options.output_type == 'pdfa')
+    task_generate_postscript_stub.active_if(options.output_type.startswith('pdfa'))
 
 
     # Bypass valve
@@ -1186,7 +1187,7 @@ def build_pipeline(options, work_folder, log, context):
                task_generate_postscript_stub],
         output=os.path.join(work_folder, 'merged.pdf'),
         extras=[log, context])
-    task_merge_pages_ghostscript.active_if(options.output_type == 'pdfa')
+    task_merge_pages_ghostscript.active_if(options.output_type.startswith('pdfa'))
 
     task_merge_pages_qpdf = main_pipeline.merge(
         task_func=merge_pages_qpdf,
diff --git a/tests/test_main.py b/tests/test_main.py
index f14bad20..523f1387 100644
--- a/tests/test_main.py
+++ b/tests/test_main.py
@@ -982,3 +982,14 @@ def test_sidecar_pagecount(spoof_tesseract_cache, resources, outpdf):
     # formfeeds is the page count less one
     assert ocr_text.count('\f') == num_pages - 1, \
         "Sidecar page count does not match PDF page count"
+
+
+def test_pdfa_1(spoof_tesseract_cache, resources, outpdf):
+    check_ocrmypdf(
+        resources / 'ccitt.pdf', outpdf,
+        '--output-type', 'pdfa-1',
+        env=spoof_tesseract_cache
+    )
+
+    pdfa_info = file_claims_pdfa(outpdf)
+    assert pdfa_info['conformance'] == 'PDF/A-1B'
\ No newline at end of file