Free PDF Accessibility Checker: WCAG & PDF/UA Compliance

PDF Accessibility Checklist

No PDF accessibility checker can test everything. Use this checklist to review the rest by hand. The paths are for Adobe Acrobat Pro; other editors have similar settings.

• Tagged PDF Critical

  In Acrobat, open File > Properties > Description. "Tagged PDF: Yes" should appear under Advanced.

• Document title Serious

  File > Properties > Description > Title is filled in, and Initial View is set to show the document title.

• Document language Serious

  File > Properties > Advanced > Reading Options > Language is set, for example English (en-US).

• Reading order Serious

  Open the Tags or Order panel, or read the file with a screen reader, and confirm content is read in a logical order.

• Alternative text on images Critical

  Each meaningful image has alt text that says what it shows. Decorative images are marked as artifacts.

• Heading structure Serious

  Headings are tagged H1, H2, H3 in order, not just styled to look bigger.

• Table headers Serious

  Data tables use TH tags for header cells, and simple tables have no merged cells.

• Form field labels Serious

  Every fillable field has a tooltip that says what to enter, and fields are in a logical tab order.

• Color contrast Serious

  Text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, or 3:1 for large text. Use our contrast checker to test colors.

• Bookmarks Moderate

  Documents with more than about 20 pages have bookmarks for each main section.

• Security settings Critical

  If the file has a password, text access for screen readers is still allowed.

• Link text Moderate

  Links say where they go, such as "2026 fee schedule", not "click here" or a bare web address.

What Makes a PDF Accessible?

An accessible PDF is a structured document, not just a picture of a page. Behind what you see, a tagged PDF contains a hidden tree of tags that says what each part is: a heading, a paragraph, a list, a table, an image or a form field. Screen readers such as NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver read those tags to announce the content in a logical order. Without tags, a PDF is a flat layout that assistive technology has to guess at.

On top of tags, an accessible PDF has a title and a declared language, alternative text on meaningful images, real text rather than scanned images, labeled form fields, sufficient color contrast and a reading order that matches the visual layout. The W3C documents how to meet each WCAG requirement in a PDF in its PDF Techniques for WCAG.

PDF Accessibility Standards: WCAG, PDF/UA and Section 508

Three standards come up whenever you check PDF accessibility. They overlap, but they answer different questions.

Section 508 applies WCAG 2.0 to documents such as PDFs, except four criteria that only make sense for websites: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (Section508.gov). PDF/UA-1 is ISO 14289-1; PDF/UA-2, ISO 14289-2, followed in 2024.

How to Make a PDF Accessible in 8 Steps

1. Start with an accessible source file. Use real heading styles, lists and table headers in Word, Google Docs or InDesign, and add alt text to images before you export.
2. Export with tags. In Word, choose File > Save As > PDF, open Options and tick "Document structure tags for accessibility". Printing to PDF throws the tags away.
3. Run this PDF accessibility checker to catch missing tags, title, language and form labels, and pages that are scanned images.
4. Set the title and language in File > Properties, and set Initial View to show the document title.
5. Fix the tags and reading order in Acrobat Pro with the Reading Order tool and the Tags panel, if the export was not clean.
6. Check alternative text on every meaningful image, and mark decorative images as artifacts.
7. Label form fields with tooltips and set the tab order to follow the document structure.
8. Test with a screen reader and a full validator such as PAC or Acrobat's Accessibility Check, then publish.

Common PDF Accessibility Failures

• Untagged PDFs, usually made with "Print to PDF" or scanning, so screen readers get no structure at all.
• Scanned pages with no text layer, which are silent to screen readers and cannot be searched.
• Images without alt text, including charts and infographics that carry key information.
• No title or language, so the viewer shows a file name like "final-v3.pdf" and screen readers may read in the wrong language.
• Unlabeled form fields, which leave screen reader users guessing what to type.
• Wrong reading order in multi-column layouts, where text is read across columns instead of down them.
• Tables without header cells, so data cannot be matched to its column or row.
• Low contrast text, such as light gray on white. Test colors with our color contrast checker.

PDF Accessibility Checker Tools Compared

Who Needs PDF Accessibility Compliance?

• State and local governments. The Department of Justice's ADA Title II rule requires web content, including PDFs and other conventional electronic documents, to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, with limited exceptions for archived and older documents that are no longer used (ADA.gov fact sheet). Public universities, schools and transit agencies are included.
• Federal agencies and contractors. Section 508 covers electronic documents, including PDFs, as described above.
• Businesses open to the public. The DOJ says businesses covered by ADA Title III must make their websites accessible (ADA.gov web guidance). Menus, forms, price lists and policies you publish as PDFs are part of your website.
• Anyone selling in the EU. The European Accessibility Act has applied to many consumer products and services since June 28, 2025.

Checking web pages too? Run a free website accessibility scan, read our ADA website compliance guide or see how PDF checks work in AccessBell Pro.