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PDFs that people can actually read

Price lists, application forms, annual reports, statements: a PDF you offer on your website is part of your website. In an audit, our reviewer checks the documents you put in scope, with tools and with a screen reader.

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What we check, and what we do not

Our scanner does not open PDF files; it skips them when it crawls your site. PDF checks are part of the human audit. Together we pick the documents that matter most, for example the forms people must fill in or the documents linked from your key journeys.

The reviewer checks each document against the WCAG criteria that apply to it and against the main points of PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1): is it tagged, is the reading order right, are images described, are language and title set? Which and how many documents we test is agreed before the audit, and you get the price in our quote before you decide. The report lists every document tested.

We test; we do not repair documents. Our guide on creating accessible PDFs shows how to get it right in Word or InDesign before export.

What the reviewer looks at in a PDF

Tags and structure

Headings, paragraphs, lists and tables are tagged as such, not just formatted to look that way.

Reading order

The tag order matches the logical order, also with columns, sidebars and boxes.

Images and artefacts

Informative images and charts have alt text; decorative elements, headers and page numbers are marked as artefacts.

Title and language

A meaningful document title is shown instead of the file name, and the main language is set.

Tables

Header cells are marked, and complex tables are split or simplified so they can be read aloud.

Form fields

Interactive fields have names, a logical tab order and can be filled in with the keyboard.

WCAG criteria that apply to PDFs

  • 1.3.1Info and Relationships

    Structure must be in the tags. A PDF without tags is a picture of text to a screen reader.

  • 1.3.2Meaningful Sequence

    Multi-column layouts are read in the wrong order unless the tag order is fixed.

  • 1.1.1Non-text Content

    Charts in reports and photos in brochures need alt text that says what they show.

  • 2.4.2Page Titled

    The document title, not “Scan_0042.pdf”, is what people hear first.

  • 3.1.1Language of Page

    Without a language setting, screen readers read a German document with English pronunciation, or the other way round.

  • 1.4.3Contrast (Minimum)

    Light grey small print and coloured table rows often fall below 4.5:1. Check your colours with the contrast checker.

How PDF checks fit into an audit

  1. List your documents

    Tell us which PDFs your users need most. We agree a sample with you.

  2. Check by hand

    The reviewer inspects tags, order, alt texts, title and language, and reads key documents with a screen reader.

  3. Fix at the source

    Findings refer to the source file where possible, so the next export is right too.

Frequently asked questions

Is a clean result in an automatic PDF checker enough?

No. Automatic checkers show whether tags, title and language exist. Whether an alt text fits or the reading order makes sense still needs a person, ideally with a screen reader.

What about scanned documents?

A scan without text recognition is just an image, and screen readers cannot read it. It needs text recognition and tagging, or better, an accessible HTML version.

Should we offer HTML instead of PDF?

Often, yes. A web page adapts to every screen and can be zoomed and read aloud more reliably. PDF makes most sense for documents that are printed or archived unchanged.

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