How do I create accessible PDFs?

This wiki guide discusses how to structure a PDF document for accessibility and verify if a PDF meets accessibility standards.

Best Practice Tips

• Word documents, PowerPoint files, and HTML web pages are natively more adaptive and screen reader-friendly than PDFs.
• If a PDF isn’t strictly necessary, consider sharing your original Microsoft or Google formatted file directly with your students.

Authoring Your Source Document

Accessibility starts with authoring your document with a clean layout in mind. Applying proper formatting during the creation of your document will save you from having to manually remediate files later when you run your accessibility check.

1. Headings: Use a logical and clear hierarchy (e.g., Heading 1 for titles, Heading 2 for section headers). Avoid using simple bold text formatting in place of built-in heading styles.
2. Lists: Use the built-in bulleted or numbered list tools from the formatting ribbon instead of manually typing dashes or symbols.
3. Tables: Always designate a header row and avoid complex, merged, or nested tables. Never use tables of the “Enter” or “Tab” key to adjust visual text spacing.
4. Alternative Text: Right-click on every image, chart, or graphic and add descriptive alternative text. If an image is purely decorative, mark it as such so screen readers skip it.
5. Color & Contrast: Avoid using color as the sole method to convey meaning (e.g., “important items are in green”) and ensure text contrast meets standard ratios (see Color Contrast Checker Tool). Use at least a 12pt clean font for readability.
6. Hyperlinks: Use descriptive link text (e.g., “NECO Accessibility Guidelines” instead of “Click here”).
7. Document Title: Provide a meaningful metadata document title in the file’s properties before exporting to PDF so that screen readers announce the document correctly (e.g., in Word via File > Info > Title).

Export Your PDF

• Microsoft: Go to File > Save As and select PDF.
  
  
  • If you have Adobe Acrobat installed, use the Acrobat tab > Create PDF to ensure advanced structural tagging is carried over. Learn more about the accessibility features in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Google: Go to File > Download > PDF Document (.pdf).

Check and Remediate Your PDF

If you already have an existing PDF file and need to verify or correct its structure, use the following tools:

• PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker): This is a free, industry-standard Windows application. It provides detailed machine validation, screen reader previews, and structural tag tree audits. Get a copy directly from the PDF Association PAC Page or download it via the official PAC Website.
• Run Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker: If you have an Adobe Acrobat Pro account:
  • Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  • Navigate to Tools > Prepare for Accessibility (or All Tools > Accessibility).
  • Select Accessibility Check and click Start Checking.
  • Review the report in the left pane. You can right-click on many flagged errors (such as missing titles or untagged elements) and select “Fix” directly.

Additional Resources

• NECO TLC | How do I build accessible course materials?
• Adobe Guidance on Creating Accessible PDFs
• WebAIM PDF Accessibility Tutorial
• WebAIM Converting Documents to PDF

Need Extra Support?

We are here to partner with you as you enhance your courses. If you run into technical issues or want a collaborative consultation on designing custom interactive modules, please reach out to our team: