Accessible PDFs for state and local government

The deadline is not the goal

The ADA Title II deadline - newly extended to April 26, 2027 for public entities with a population of 50,000 or more - is the headline, but the goal is simpler: residents should be able to read the documents that affect their lives. A compliant archive is a byproduct of that. This page is for the teams making that happen on a realistic budget and timeline.

What is in scope for public-sector teams

• Public-facing PDFs linked from your site: policies, permits, forms, meeting minutes, notices, school report cards, budgets, contracts.
• PDFs served by transactional portals (e.g. permitting, licensing, benefit applications).
• Scanned records that are currently used for services. Archived records that predate the rule and are not in active use may fall under a narrow exemption.

A program that fits in a quarter

1. Weeks 1 and 2 - intake and inventory. Create a controlled program intake for departments to record the service impact, owner, requested outcome, and due date. Connect website PDF monitoring to record public PDF URLs and the pages where they appear, then tag each file with an owner department and priority. New discoveries and source changes stay visible after the initial review. An authorized member can turn an eligible, high-priority public PDF into a private remediation draft without changing the live website link.
2. Weeks 3 to 6 - bulk remediation. Run documents through an automated pipeline. Group by department; spot-check a random 5 percent. Send anything flagged critical to a human reviewer.
3. Weeks 7 and 8 - publish reviewed alternatives. Map the exact completed HTML version only after review, and link to the tagged PDF for people who need it. Source changes return the item to review instead of silently inheriting the older decision.
4. Weeks 9 and 10 - procedures and training. Define a documented publishing gate for new PDFs and train each content owner on the checks they are responsible for completing.
5. Week 11 onward - evidence. Keep a register: original score, remediated score, manual check outcome, reviewer, exact version, date, and the permanent URL for the hosted HTML version. This gives the organization an auditable record of its own remediation decisions without treating a score as certification.

A multi-department agency on the Organization plan can run this work through a managed organization document portal. Members and vendors use the same host-scoped workflow, while the public directory receives only approved exact document versions.

Procurement notes

The public software plans cover the capabilities and limits listed on the pricing page. If your organization requires a security review, accessibility documentation, specific contract terms, or higher limits, use the procurement contact form. We confirm supported requirements, deployment options, data handling, timelines, and pricing in writing before purchase.

How a 500-document agency uses DocAccessible

An example workflow for a mid-size public entity: a content administrator works through a prioritized backlog of PDFs, the pipeline produces hosted HTML and rebuilt tagged PDFs, and the communications team reviews the documents flagged for human judgment. Forms, signed records, or designed files that must retain their exact layout move to a separate manual-remediation queue. DocAccessible agency projects above 500 pages use a flat $5-per-page rate. The accessibility score report is exported monthly for the legal team, who keep the evidence register required under Title II.

Frequently asked, government-specific

Do we need to remediate PDFs in foreign languages?

Yes. The language declaration should match the document's content. DocAccessible detects the language from the source and lets a reviewer override it.

What about PDFs on sub-sites we do not control?

If the content appears on a domain you publish, it is in scope even when a vendor manages the sub-site. Bring remediation language into your vendor contracts for anyone publishing on your behalf.

Can a volunteer-maintained site meet the bar?

The standard does not change with team size. A small team can use the Free plan to evaluate the workflow, then choose a plan or manual service based on its document volume and review needs. Automation reduces repetitive work but does not remove the need for accountable review.

Read the full ADA Title II guide for the regulatory detail, or the step-by-step remediation guide for the hands-on process, or the Program Hub guide for intake, triage, and release evidence.