PDFs are used on a daily basis by top institutions and businesses, right down to the average person you walk by on the street. Pretty much everyone uses PDFs, and with good reason as well - they’re compatible with most software and are overall an ideal way to share information online.
However, for people with disabilities, the PDFs that are shared often seem like a closed book. Despite their many advantages, if they’re not accessible, they can be frustrating to open and use for users with disabilities.
So what is an accessible PDF is and how you can make your PDF files accessible for people with disabilities? Here at accessiBe, we want to make sure you can do just that.
3 reasons why PDFs are so popular
The main reason people love PDFs is that they’re compatible with almost every software. When you send someone a Word document you made on Microsoft Word 2007, they'll have compatibility issues if they try to open it on Microsoft Word 2017. But a PDF can be opened without difficulty on any system.
Secondly, PDFs can hold all kinds of content on a single document, including graphics, text, and links.
Finally, you can create a PDF easily from almost any source, including printers, scanners, and big photocopiers.
PDF uses in the workspace
It's not surprising that PDFs are used so much in the workplace. Government departments send material in PDF format because it can be sent as an email attachment while being encrypted to ensure security. Better yet, built-in tools register when it gets signed or initialed, thereby preventing someone from removing the signature and replacing it with their own.
Large corporations are sending PDF resources with the confidence that everyone in the entire firm will be able to open them and see them formatted correctly, no matter what device or program they’re using.
Schools, universities, and vocational colleges use PDFs to send assignments. Links for recommended reading, graphs, tables, sketches, or images, can all be held on the same PDF, making it far more convenient than requiring students to send or receive assignments in several different files.
Aren’t standard PDFs automatically accessible?
No, a standard PDF is what is created when you first make your PDF. A standard PDF doesn't meet accessibility guidelines and is most likely what you encounter on a regular basis.
A standard PDF can be a severe obstacle for people with disabilities mostly because it doesn't support assistive technology. If someone has low vision or is legally blind and uses a screen reader to navigate the internet, they probably won't be able to read a standard PDF. This is because assistive technology tools such as screen readers, text to speech software, screen magnifiers, and Braille displays aren’t automatically compatible with standard PDFs.
Sending an inaccessible PDF to a blind person will simply prevent this person from accessing, viewing, and interacting with the document. Something that most people take for granted, such as reading a simple PDF, is something people with disabilities struggle with daily. In reality, all documents should be accessible for people with limited or low vision, color blindness, and cognitive impairment.
How are accessible PDFs different?
The fundamental difference between an accessible and inaccessible PDF file is that one can be accessed, viewed, and interacted with by everybody, including people with disabilities. The other one cannot. For a PDF to be accessible, it must meet a set of accessibility guidelines. PDF accessibility standards include the WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards and the PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1) standard.
How do tag trees help make a PDF accessible?
The main element that makes a PDF accessible is that it contains tag trees. These tags tell assistive technologies how to read the PDF content and identify headings, paragraphs, sections, and tables.
They ensure that assistive tech tools move from section to section in the correct order, without skipping non-text items like graphs or images. Tags also tell a screen reader what is shown in a table, picture, or non-text content.
Finally, assistive technologies use the tags to resize the document if someone magnifies it, and mobile phones use them to fit the document to a mobile screen. The tags also guide everyone to complete the fields in the correct order.
How to make your PDF accessible
PDF can be turned into an accessible PDF, as long as you structure and tag it correctly to meet accessibility standards. If you create your document with accessibility in mind from the very beginning, this is a lot easier than editing it once the document has been made!
Here are several elements that are looked at when making a PDF accessible:
- Alt-texts for images and any other non-text content like graphs or data tables
- Headings that follow a logical hierarchy (i.e., H1, H2, H3)
- Color schemes, contrast ratios, and fonts that are easy to read
- If interactive form fields need to be completed, ensure that the user can enter values and move from one field to the next logically using the keyboard.
It's more challenging if you're using a PDF that was created from a scan. These PDFs are interpreted as a single image, so you can't select and copy text, for example. You'll need to scan the documents with an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool to convert them into text, images, and tables before adding tags.
Some tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro and Acrobat DC add the tags automatically with the "save as accessible PDF" function. However, you’ll still need to check tags manually to see that they match up to the PDF content correctly.
An accessible PDF should be part of your accessible web policy
PDFs are so popular and used by so many companies and organizations that it's vital to make them accessible to people with disabilities. Thanks to today's AI tools and our remediation solutions service, there's no excuse to leave PDFs out of your accessible website protocols.
Frequently asked questions about PDF accessibility
Q1. What makes a PDF accessible?
A1. An accessible PDF includes proper tagging, logical reading order, accurate alt text, and structure that supports screen readers and keyboard navigation.
Q2. Why do PDFs need to follow accessibility guidelines?
A2. PDFs often contain important information. Making them accessible ensures people with disabilities can read, navigate, and understand the content independently.
Q3. Are all PDFs automatically accessible when exported from Word or Google Docs?
A3. No. Exports often miss key elements like tags, alt text, or correct reading order, so manual review is still necessary.
Q4. What types of issues make PDFs inaccessible?
A4. Common issues include untagged content, scanned images without text recognition, poor contrast, missing alt text, and complex tables.
Q5. Do interactive PDFs need accessibility work too?
A5. Yes. Forms, buttons, and interactive elements must be labeled and navigable with both mouse and keyboard to support assistive technologies.
Q6. How can I check whether a PDF is accessible?
A6. You can use built-in checkers in tools like Adobe Acrobat or run audits with accessibility software—then review results manually for accuracy.
Q7. What is the role of tagging in PDF accessibility?
A7. Tags define headings, lists, tables, and reading order. Without tags, screen readers cannot interpret the document correctly.
Q8. Can automated tools fully remediate a PDF?
A8. Not fully. Automation helps speed up the process, but complex documents still require manual review and correction.
Q9. How does accessiBe help with PDF accessibility?
A9. accessiBe offers professional PDF remediation through accessServices, where experts review structure, tagging, reading order, alt text, and interactive elements. Each file is updated to support WCAG 2.1 Level AA alignment and comes with an accessibility validation report to support ongoing ADA compliance efforts.
