Code Fix Guide

How to Make PDFs Accessible and ADA Compliant

PDFs are one of the most common sources of accessibility complaints, especially for government and educational websites. Untagged PDFs, scanned documents without OCR, and PDFs created from images are completely inaccessible to screen reader users.

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

Linking to an inaccessible PDF without alternatives

Problem

<!-- Linking to an untagged PDF -->
<a href="/menu.pdf">View Menu</a>

Fix

<!-- Provide HTML alternative -->
<a href="/menu">View Menu (HTML)</a>
<a href="/menu.pdf">Download Menu (PDF, accessible)</a>

<!-- Or provide the content directly on the page -->

Scanned image PDF — no text content for screen readers

Problem

<!-- Scanned document as PDF -->
<a href="/policy-scan.pdf">Policy Document</a>

Fix

<!-- Run OCR on the scanned document first -->
<!-- Then tag the PDF in Adobe Acrobat: -->
<!-- 1. Accessibility > Add Tags to Document -->
<!-- 2. Set reading order -->
<!-- 3. Add alt text to images -->
<!-- 4. Run Accessibility Checker -->

Why This Matters

Inaccessible PDFs violate WCAG 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), and 2.4.2 (Page Titled). The DOJ and OCR specifically target organizations with inaccessible PDFs. The best approach is to provide HTML versions of content when possible, and properly tag PDFs when PDFs are necessary.

Related WCAG Criteria

1.1.1Non-text Content

Level A — Perceivable

1.3.1Info and Relationships

Level A — Perceivable

2.4.2Page Titled

Level A — Operable

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