ADA remediation is the process of making digital documents, like PDFs, accessible to screen readers and other assistive technologies. This allows individuals with visual impairments to navigate and hear an audio version of the document’s contents.
Digital documents are everywhere on the web. These include bank statements, invoices, utility bills, brochures, job applications, and downloadable forms. But not everyone interacts with these files the same way. People with visual disabilities rely on assistive tools to read digital content, and if a document isn’t formatted correctly, those tools can’t interpret it. To meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance standards, your documents must be created or updated in a way that makes them readable by assistive technologies.
To those with normal vision, an inaccessible document may look completely fine. That’s why it’s not possible to tell if a document is accessible just by looking at it. Instead, documents need to be coded correctly behind the scenes (or edited later) to ensure people with visual disabilities can read them. If they’re not, you risk excluding users and opening your business up to potential lawsuits.
But if an accessible document doesn’t look any different from an inaccessible one, what’s the difference?
The key is remediation. This involves adding digital labels, or “tags” that tell assistive technologies what each part of the document is and how it should be read. These tags identify headings, lists, images, tables, links, and more. They also define the reading order, so content is delivered in a logical flow.
Remediation includes other key accessibility features:
- Metadata (like the document’s title, author, and keywords)
- Defined table headers, rows, and columns
- Labeled lists and hyperlinks
- Alt text for images
If your PDF is image-only, like a scanned document, assistive tools won’t be able to read any of the content. In that case, remediation includes running OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to convert those images into searchable and readable text. From there, you can add proper tags and structure, making the document accessible.
In short, document remediation organizes and labels the content of your documents, ensuring it can be read and understood by both machines and people. Beyond accessibility, remediation also comes with added benefits, like improving the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) of your documents, making them easier to find online.
While there are many services that specialize in document remediation, you can often handle smaller files and updates yourself with tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro.
How can I tell if my PDFs are compliant?
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to tell if a PDF is accessible just by looking at it, especially if you’re not using assistive technology. A document might appear completely fine to someone with full vision but still be unreadable to a screen reader. That’s why you’ll need to check your file using editing software like Adobe Acrobat Pro to review the document’s properties and structure.
Here are some common accessibility issues to look for in PDFs:
- Missing or incomplete Metadata. Your document must include a title, an author, a subject, and keywords to be fully compliant.
- Missing tags. If a PDF doesn’t have tags, it’s not in compliance with accessibility standards. PDF tags are the key to accessing a PDF’s content with assistive technologies.
- Bad tag structure. If your document is improperly tagged, it’s still not accessible. One example of this is neglecting to specify the reading order of your tags.
- Missing alt text for images. Without alt text, screen readers only announce that a graphic exists, without giving users any context. Providing alt text provides information about the image.
- No bookmarks. For documents longer than nine pages, bookmarks help users jump between sections. Ideally, they should match the document’s headings.
- Image-only PDFs. Scanned documents are often just images of text. Running OCR (Optical Character Recognition) converts them into searchable, taggable content that assistive tools can read.
- Missing or incorrect table headers. Data tables need properly labeled row and column headers. Without them, screen readers can’t convey the information clearly. Tables are one of the hardest parts of remediation and often need to be fixed manually.
Best practices for creating compliant documents include filling out the author field with your full company name, address, and phone number so readers can easily contact you if needed. It’s also important to set the correct reading language and include alternative text for all non-text elements like images, graphics, charts, tables, shapes, signatures, videos, and audio files. If it’s not plain text, it should be described with text so screen readers can interpret it correctly.
Additionally, when creating lists, stick to standard round bullet points, as decorative or stylized bullets aren’t always recognized by assistive technology. Hyperlinks should also be clear and descriptive, telling users exactly what to expect. For any audio or video content, closed captions or transcripts should be included. It’s also a good idea to add a short accessibility disclaimer at the beginning of your document, letting readers know who to contact if they need help accessing the content.
Fortunately, there are tools available to help identify accessibility issues. If you’re using Adobe Acrobat Pro or DC, you can install the CommonLook PDF Validator, a free plugin that checks your document against major accessibility standards like WCAG 2.2, Section 508, and others. Another helpful option is PAVE—the PDF Accessibility Evaluation Engine. This free online tool lets you upload your PDF, scans it for common issues, and even allows you to fix many of them right in your browser before downloading a cleaner, more accessible version. Just keep in mind that while PAVE is great for quick fixes, more advanced edits will still need to be edited in Adobe Acrobat or a similar PDF editing platform.
If you’re using Adobe Acrobat, you’ll want to start with the “Prepare for Accessibility” tool, found under the “All Tools” panel. It runs a basic scan to confirm whether your document includes key accessibility elements like tags. If you have Acrobat Pro, you can perform a full accessibility check by doing the following:
- Open the Accessibility tool from the Tools menu by clicking “Prepare for Accessibility.”
- Click “Check for Accessibility” or “Full Check”, depending on your version.In the Accessibility Checker dialog box, check “Create Accessibility Report” and “Attach report to document” if you want to keep a copy of the results with your file.
Choose which accessibility elements you’d like to evaluate under Checking Options.
- Click “Start Checking”. Acrobat will generate a detailed report and mark any issues directly within your document.
What kinds of documents need to be accessible?
Pretty much all of them! While PDFs are the most common type of digital document (often created directly from programs like Microsoft Word), accessibility isn’t limited to just PDF files. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and even scanned files all need to be evaluated and remediated to ensure they’re readable by assistive technology. If you’re working with Microsoft Office tools, Grand Valley State University still offers one of the best step-by-step guides for making those files accessible.
If your documents need to be accessible, how you host them also matters. Avoid using third-party document hosting platforms that don’t support assistive tools. For example, issuu.com is a popular service for sharing digital content, but it doesn’t allow screen readers to access the text. That means your carefully tagged, accessible PDF would become completely unreadable the moment it’s uploaded to a non-compliant platform. For best results, host accessible documents directly on your own web server so they remain fully usable.
In most cases, your PDFs and other digital documents won’t pass accessibility checks the first time. That’s completely normal. You’ll either need to manually adjust them or bring in help, especially if you’re dealing with a large batch of files. At White Whale Web, we specialize in Section 508 and ADA compliance for websites and documents, and can help you bring your PDFs, Word files, and other digital content up to today’s accessibility standards.