Digital Accessibility

Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5200 USA

PDFs and Other Documents

Documents like PDFs, word processing files and spreadsheets should be easy for everyone to read and use. Simple steps like using headings, descriptive links and alt text for images help people using assistive technologies—and make documents better for all readers. Use the resources on this page to learn how to create accessible PDFs and other documents.

Before you create a PDF

PDFs can be complex to make accessible, especially if they start as scans or require remediation in multiple tools. When possible, share content as an accessible webpage (HTML), Word document or Google Doc—they’re easier to make accessible, work better on mobile, and are simpler to update. Use PDFs only when you need a fixed layout for printing or an official, unchanging record.

Who is responsible?

Anyone who creates, uploads, edits or distributes PDFs and other documents for instruction, communication, marketing, promotion, or other academic or business purposes is responsible for ensuring those materials are accessible.

What standards do you need to meet?

All PDFs and other documents must comply with the required WCAG 2.1 AA standards. These guidelines are referenced in WMU’s Web Accessibility Policy and in the ADA Title II federal regulations.

What to do? (Checklist)

Use the following best practices to help ensure your PDFs and documents are accessible to all users.

When creating or fixing PDFs in Acrobat Pro

  1. Run an initial check: Use “Prepare for accessibility” (or Accessibility Checker) to find common issues and add a title, language and tags.
  2. Add tags and structure: Ensure the PDF is tagged; check the Order and Tags panels to verify reading order, headings, lists and tables.
  3. Alt text: Add or verify alt text for informative images and figures.
  4. Tables: Define table headers and scope; split complex tables or provide summaries.
  5. Forms: Use form tools to add programmatic labels, tooltips, required indicators and clear error messages; set a logical tab order; ensure keyboard access.
  6. Bookmarks: Provide bookmarks for long documents that mirror the heading structure.
  7. Color and contrast: Verify contrast for text and form UI; ensure focus indicators are visible in interactive PDFs.
  8. Security: Avoid security settings that block assistive technologies from accessing content.
  9. Re‑check: Re-run the checker and perform manual testing with keyboard and a screen reader.

Scanned or image‑only PDFs

  • Avoid when possible. If you must use them, run OCR to convert images of text into real, selectable text.
  • Verify accuracy: Review and correct OCR errors, especially in headings, lists, tables and columns.

For content and source document authoring (Word, Google Docs)

  1. Headings: Use true, nested headings (H1 → H2 → H3). Do not style body text to look like a heading.
  2. Reading order: Ensure a logical reading order.
  3. Lists: Use ordered or unordered list tools; do not fake lists with tabs or hyphens.
  4. Tables: Use tables only for data. Add header rows and columns and set the scope. Avoid merged or split cells when possible.
  5. Images: Provide meaningful alt text for informative images. Mark decorative images as decorative/empty alt (alt="").
  6. Links: Use descriptive link text that states the destination or action (avoid "click here"). Fix broken links.
  7. Color and contrast: Ensure sufficient contrast for text and essential visuals; do not rely on color alone for meaning.
  8. Language and titles: Set the document language and add clear document titles in the document properties.
  9. Export to PDF the right way: Use the program's "Save as/Export to PDF (tagged)" or Adobe PDF Maker to preserve tags, bookmarks, reading order and accessibility metadata.

What tools are available?