Accessibility guides.
Written by the DocAccessible team for people who need accessible documents in front of real users, not academic conversations about the standards. Every guide cites the primary sources it relies on and shows the date it was last reviewed.
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- Compliance9 min read
ADA Title II: the April 2026 deadline was extended - here is what changed
On April 20, 2026 the DOJ pushed the Title II web compliance dates out by one year. Public entities with a population of 50,000 or more now have until April 26, 2027. WCAG 2.1 AA is still required.
Updated July 14, 2026Read - Standards11 min read
WCAG 2.2 AA, a pragmatic checklist for documents
Seven recurring document accessibility failure patterns, mapped to relevant Level AA success criteria and practical review steps.
Updated July 14, 2026Read - How-to9 min read
How to make a PDF accessible in 2026
A repeatable six-step process for accessible HTML, rebuilt tagged PDFs, and the cases that require manual exact-layout remediation.
Updated July 14, 2026Read - Product guide6 min read
Hosted HTML, rebuilt PDF, or manual remediation?
Understand the automated outputs, why HTML is often the better public reading experience, and when an exact-layout PDF needs separately priced human remediation.
Updated July 14, 2026Read - Methodology8 min read
How we measure PDF-to-HTML conversion quality
The planned 50-document pilot for text, reading order, structure, links, images, tables, and false-safe routing, with no result claimed yet.
Updated July 20, 2026Read - Checklist10 min read
PDF accessibility checklist: 15 checks before publishing
A release-ready checklist for tags, reading order, headings, tables, images, links, forms, metadata, keyboard use, and manual review.
Updated July 14, 2026Read - Standards8 min read
PDF/UA vs WCAG: what each standard actually means
Understand what PDF/UA, WCAG, WCAG2ICT, and Section 508 measure, and why one green validator report is not certification.
Updated July 14, 2026Read - Solution7 min read
Accessible PDFs for state and local government
How public-sector teams are remediating thousands of legacy records before the new April 26, 2027 Title II deadline, without rewriting them.
Updated July 14, 2026Read
Authoring and export
Where PDF tags come from in the first place: which apps write them, which settings turn them on, and what each export still gets wrong.
- Authoring guide9 min read
Which apps export tagged PDFs? Word, Google Docs, Pages, Canva, InDesign, LaTeX, and browsers compared
A vendor-sourced matrix of which authoring tools write PDF tags on export, which setting turns them on, and where each one still needs a manual check.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Authoring guide7 min read
Google Docs to accessible PDF: what the export tags now, and what you still have to check
Google Docs has exported tagged PDFs since December 2024. What the tagging covers, how to prepare the document, and the checks to run before you publish.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Authoring guide6 min read
Word to PDF: why Save As keeps accessibility tags and Print to PDF throws them away
The exact Word, Excel, and PowerPoint settings on Windows and macOS that produce a tagged PDF, why printing to PDF produces an untagged one, and what to fix in the source first.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Authoring guide6 min read
Canva PDF accessibility: the export settings that keep tags, and the limits Canva itself documents
How to export a Canva design as a tagged PDF, set reading order and heading semantics, add alt text and a language, and where Canva says the result may still fail.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Authoring guide8 min read
Accessible PDFs from LaTeX: the tagging project, \DocumentMetadata, and what works in 2026
How to produce tagged, PDF/UA-2 targeted output from LaTeX with \DocumentMetadata, which engine to use, how to add alt text and tagged math, and where package support still limits results.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Developer guide9 min read
Generating tagged PDFs from HTML: Chrome and Puppeteer, Prince, WeasyPrint, and how to validate the output
For developers generating PDFs from HTML: which engines write tags, the flags that control them, why the HTML's semantics decide the result, and how to validate against PDF/UA.
Updated September 2, 2026Read
Standards and formats
PDF/UA-1 and PDF/UA-2, the Matterhorn Protocol, PDF/A, forms, language, and the document-level settings that checkers flag.
- Standards explained7 min read
PDF/UA-2 explained: what ISO 14289-2 changes for PDF 2.0, and when you actually need it
PDF/UA-2 (ISO 14289-2:2024) is the accessibility standard for PDF 2.0 files. What it adds over PDF/UA-1, its relationship to WTPDF, and which tools produce or validate it today.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Standards explained8 min read
The Matterhorn Protocol: 31 checkpoints and 136 failure conditions, explained for people who are not PDF engineers
What the Matterhorn Protocol is, how its 31 checkpoints and 136 failure conditions test PDF/UA-1, which ones a machine can decide, and how to read a checker report built on it.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Standards explained7 min read
PDF/A vs PDF/UA: archival and accessible are different jobs, and a file can do both
PDF/A preserves a document for the long term; PDF/UA makes it usable with assistive technology. What each level guarantees, why PDF/A-1a is not accessibility, and how to produce files that satisfy both.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Standards explained8 min read
Title, language, bookmarks, tab order, security: the five document-level PDF settings every checker flags
The document-level PDF settings that fail accessibility checks most often: title and DisplayDocTitle, language, bookmarks, tab order, and the permission that lets screen readers read text. Where each lives and which rule tests it.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Standards explained6 min read
Language tagging in PDFs: the document language, passages in other languages, and the five places PDF/UA checks
How to declare a PDF's language and mark passages in other languages so screen readers pronounce them correctly, which WCAG techniques and PDF/UA conditions apply, and how to handle bilingual documents.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Standards explained8 min read
Accessible PDF forms: AcroForm vs XFA, field names and tooltips, tab order, and what WCAG expects
Why XFA forms fail accessibility and archiving, how AcroForm fields get an accessible name through tooltips, the WCAG PDF techniques for forms, and when an HTML form is the better answer.
Updated September 2, 2026Read
Testing and evidence
What checkers, screen readers, federal test baselines, and conformance reports actually establish, and how to record it.
- Testing guide8 min read
Acrobat's accessibility checker vs PAC: what each report means, and why a pass is not conformance
Why a PDF can pass Adobe Acrobat's accessibility checker and fail PAC, what each tool actually tests, how to read their reports, and what neither can decide.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Testing guide9 min read
How to test a PDF with a screen reader: NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver, and which viewers actually expose the tags
A repeatable screen reader test for PDFs with NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver: which viewer to open the file in, the keystrokes to use, what to listen for, and independent data on which viewers expose tags.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Testing guide7 min read
Section 508 document testing: the ICT Testing Baseline for Electronic Documents and what federal testers check
The Section 508 ICT Testing Baseline for Electronic Documents (version 1.0, September 2024): its 24 tests, who wrote it, how it relates to the Revised 508 Standards and WCAG, and how to use it outside government.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Procurement guide7 min read
VPAT and ACR explained: versions, editions, conformance levels, and how to read one before you buy
What a VPAT is, what an Accessibility Conformance Report is, the current VPAT 2.5 template and its four editions, the conformance levels, why an ACR is not a certification, and the questions to ask when a vendor sends one.
Updated September 2, 2026Read
Content techniques
The parts no tool can write for you: charts, maps and drawings, signed documents, and high-volume statements.
- Content guide8 min read
Alt text for charts and graphs in PDFs: the short description, the long description, and when to use a data table
How to write text alternatives for charts, graphs, and infographics in PDFs using the two-part pattern W3C recommends: a short alt on the figure and a long description or data table in the document.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Content guide7 min read
Maps, floor plans, and engineering drawings in PDFs: what an accessible alternative actually looks like
Spatial graphics cannot be made accessible with a sentence of alt text. How to provide equivalent access to maps, site plans, floor plans, and technical drawings, and what the law says about them.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Content guide7 min read
E-signatures and accessible PDFs: what Acrobat Sign and DocuSign preserve, and why remediation must come first
How signing platforms handle PDF tags, what Adobe and Docusign document about accessible envelopes, why a digital signature freezes the file, and the order of operations that keeps signed documents accessible.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Operations guide8 min read
Accessible statements, bills, and notices at scale: fixing the template instead of the document
How to make high-volume transactional documents (statements, bills, explanations of benefits, notices) accessible by fixing the template and composition pipeline, what the law expects, and how to validate by sample.
Updated September 2, 2026Read
Laws and deadlines
The ADA Title II rule, the HHS rule, Colorado, the UK regulations, EN 301 549 and the European Accessibility Act, and Canada, each read from the primary source.
- Compliance guide9 min read
Document accessibility laws by jurisdiction: the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada in one table
One table of the laws that require accessible PDFs and documents in the US, UK, EU, and Canada: who is covered, the technical standard, the deadline, and how old documents are treated. Checked September 2026.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Compliance guide9 min read
The ADA Title II exceptions for documents: archived content, preexisting PDFs, password-protected files, and third-party content, read closely
What 28 CFR 35.201 actually excepts from the WCAG 2.1 AA requirement, with the DOJ's own examples: archived web content, preexisting conventional electronic documents, third-party content, individualized password-protected documents, and social media posts.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Compliance guide8 min read
The HHS Section 504 web and document accessibility rule for health providers: the dates moved to 2027 and 2028
HHS extended its Section 504 web content and mobile app deadlines by one year in May 2026. Who is covered, what WCAG 2.1 AA means for patient forms and documents, the new dates, and how the rule relates to Section 1557 and ADA Title II.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Compliance guide7 min read
Colorado HB21-1110 and documents: what applies now that the July 1, 2025 grace period has ended
Colorado's digital accessibility law reaches PDFs and other documents published by state and local government. The OIT standards, the July 2024 and 2025 dates, the $3,500 statutory damages, and what a Colorado public body should do with its document backlog.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Compliance guide7 min read
UK public sector PDFs: the 2018 regulations, the 23 September 2018 cutoff, WCAG 2.2, and the accessibility statement
What the UK's 2018 public sector accessibility regulations require of PDFs: WCAG 2.2 AA, the pre-September 2018 exemption and its limit, who monitors and enforces, and GOV.UK's advice to publish HTML instead.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Standards and law9 min read
EN 301 549 clause 10: what the European standard requires of non-web documents, and how the European Accessibility Act uses it
Clause 10 of EN 301 549 applies WCAG-derived requirements to downloadable documents such as PDFs. What it covers, the version cited in EU law, the V4 draft moving to WCAG 2.2, and how the European Accessibility Act, in force since June 28, 2025, uses it.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Compliance guide8 min read
The European Accessibility Act and e-books: the six Annex I requirements, EPUB Accessibility 1.1, and what a PDF e-book has to do
E-books are in scope of the European Accessibility Act since June 28, 2025. The six e-book requirements in Annex I verbatim, how W3C maps them to EPUB Accessibility 1.1, the exemptions and transition period, and what publishers with PDF-only titles need to do.
Updated September 2, 2026Read - Compliance guide9 min read
Document accessibility in Canada: the December 2025 Accessible Canada Regulations and Ontario's AODA
Canada's amended Accessible Canada Regulations set December 2027 and 2028 dates for web pages, apps, and non-web documents against CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. Who is covered, the exemptions, and how Ontario's AODA (WCAG 2.0 AA) applies to documents.
Updated September 2, 2026Read