Creating Accessible PDFs

The best way to create an accessible PDF is to start with an accessible original document. Accessibility issues are often easier to correct in the original Word, PowerPoint, Canva, or other source file than after the document has been converted to PDF.

Before creating your PDF:

• Use built-in heading styles to organize content.
• Add alternative text to meaningful images.
• Identify decorative images appropriately.
• Use meaningful, descriptive link text.
• Make sure text has sufficient color contrast.
• Do not rely on color alone to communicate information.
• Use built-in tools for bulleted and numbered lists.
• Keep tables simple and identify appropriate headers.
• Make sure content follows a logical reading order.
• Use the accessibility checker available in the program you are using.

If you are creating your document in Microsoft 365, run the Accessibility Checker and correct identified issues before exporting the document to PDF.

Microsoft Accessibility Resources

Create Accessible PDFs — Microsoft

Make Your Word Documents Accessible — Microsoft

Improve Accessibility With the Accessibility Checker — Microsoft

After creating or editing a PDF, use Adobe Acrobat's accessibility tools to identify and correct accessibility issues before publishing or sharing the document.

Run an Accessibility Check in Adobe Acrobat

1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
2. Select All tools > View more > Prepare for accessibility.
3. Select Check for accessibility.
4. Choose the appropriate accessibility checking options and select Start Checking.
5. Review the results and correct any issues identified.
6. Pay particular attention to items marked Needs Manual Check, since some accessibility requirements cannot be evaluated automatically.

When reviewing your PDF, check that:

• Text is searchable and selectable.
• The document has appropriate tags and structure.
• Headings are identified correctly and follow a logical hierarchy.
• Content follows a logical reading order.
• Meaningful images have appropriate alternative text.
• Decorative images are identified appropriately so they can be ignored by assistive technologies.
• Tables have appropriate structure and headers.
• Links use meaningful, descriptive text.
• The document's title and language are identified.
• Form fields, when present, have appropriate labels and a logical tab order.
• The document can be navigated using a keyboard.

An automated accessibility checker is useful, but it cannot identify every accessibility issue. Some requirements must be reviewed manually.

Create and Verify PDF Accessibility — Adobe Acrobat

If you create a document or design in Canva, use Canva's accessibility tools to identify and correct potential accessibility issues before exporting it.

Review elements such as color contrast, alternative text, typography, and document structure.

Checking accessibility in Canva is only the first step. After exporting your design as a PDF, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat and run Adobe's accessibility checker. The exported PDF may have accessibility issues that were not identified in the original Canva design.

To check the exported PDF in Adobe Acrobat:

1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
2. Select All tools > View more > Prepare for accessibility.
3. Select Check for accessibility.
4. Select the appropriate options and select Start Checking.
5. Review the accessibility report and correct identified issues.
6. Review items marked Needs Manual Check, since some accessibility requirements cannot be evaluated automatically.

Pay particular attention to the PDF's tags, reading order, headings, alternative text, document title and language, links, and tables. These elements may need additional review or remediation after a Canva design is exported to PDF.

Resources:

Accessibility at Canva — Canva

Create and Verify PDF Accessibility — Adobe Acrobat

If a PDF needs to remain available, it must be remediated so that it is accessible.

Depending on the document, this may include:

• Adding or correcting document tags.
• Establishing a logical reading order.
• Creating an appropriate heading structure.
• Adding alternative text to meaningful images.
• Properly identifying decorative images.
• Correcting tables and lists.
• Adding descriptive link text.
• Identifying the document title and language.
• Making forms and form fields accessible.
• Running Adobe Acrobat's accessibility checker.
• Manually reviewing accessibility requirements that cannot be checked automatically.

Whenever possible, return to the original Word, PowerPoint, Canva, or other source document and correct accessibility issues there before creating a new PDF. Building accessibility into the original document can reduce the amount of remediation needed afterward.

Create and Verify PDF Accessibility — Adobe Acrobat

Scanned PDFs require additional attention because they may contain images of text rather than actual searchable text.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is technology that recognizes text within scanned documents and images. OCR converts image-based text into text that can be selected, searched, and accessed by assistive technologies.

Use OCR in Adobe Acrobat

1. Open the scanned PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
2. Select All tools > Scan & OCR.
3. Under Recognize Text, select In this file.
4. Select the appropriate pages and document language.
5. Select Recognize Text.
6. Review the recognized text for accuracy and correct any errors.
7. Save the updated PDF.

OCR creates a searchable text layer in the PDF. Always review the results because OCR may not recognize every word correctly.

Important: Running OCR does not make a PDF fully accessible. After applying OCR, complete the accessibility review described above. Check the document's tags, reading order, headings, alternative text, tables, links, language, and form fields when applicable.

Create and Verify PDF Accessibility — Adobe Acrobat