PDF Accessibility Remediation Guide

What is a PDF?

PDF actually stands for Portable Document Format as the original intention of PDFs was developed to share documents with other users that may not have the same application software as you. At that time, in 1991, not everyone had access to Microsoft suites. 1991 was two years before the World Wide Web would become public and then it would take quite a while for the internet mature into the digital universe we are used to now.

In a world that has gone digital and in which paper is used less and less, PDFs are no longer always the ideal format for publishing content. The best reason to use PDFs is still to be able to print hand copies of content, which in and of itself is not very accessible. In 2020, the Nielsen Norman Group published an article called PDF: Still Unfit for Human Consumption, 20 Years Later, which covers the various issues with PDFs.

What is PDF accessibility?

PDF accessibility ensures that disabled people accessing your PDF with assistive technology can access and navigate the content in an equally effective way to anyone not using assistive technology. PDF accessibility focuses on the behind the scenes structure and when you access the inner workings, you will find that the code looks a lot like the code on a website with <p> tags for paragraphs, <h2> tags for the main sections of a PDF, <image> for image, etc. This structure can be delivered well if a person is making their source file accessible. For example, a simple Word document converted to a PDF that has already been designed with accessibility in mind will most likely pass all accessibility checks as the correct structure is behind the scenes. However, documents that were not built with accessibility in mind will need significant remediation on the PDF side.

PDF accessibility itself is tricky though. Complex content such as interactive forms and maps may be impossible to make accessible. And even when you have checked all the boxes from a compliance standpoint, the PDF still may not be usable by assistive technology users. For example, PDFs do not support high contrast mode or dark mode, which means employees with light sensitivity or low vision that require these display modes will not have an equally effective experience. In addition, no matter how much time you spend on trying to remediate complex PDFs, the experience may not be usable for screen reader users. We recommend reviewing the Before You Get Started and PDF Usage Guidelines sections of this guide to ask yourself whether remediating your PDF is the best option.

Before You Get Started

Rethink Your Solution

It's important to ask yourself first whether a PDF should be a PDF going forward. As already noted, PDFs are a legacy format. You can spend hours remediating a document or you can spend hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on a PDF to remediate it, but as Lucy Greco states in The Problem With PDF, that doesn't mean the experience will actually be usable.

Some content is better to deliver as basic html that is searchable and mobile responsive, including:

Job Aids: Job Aids can be converted to knowledge articles, which provides better semantics and broader support for assistive technology (for example, you can not use dark mode with a PDF).
Project Updates: Project updates can be converted either to html articles on the website or to email announcements via our email marketing tool. Both provide a more accessible and usable experience. The email marketing tool also provides the benefit of send and click analytics.

Some content is too complex to be delivered in a usable and accessible PDF format. Examples of complex content that can't be made accessible to screen reader users in PDF format are:

Complex Flow Charts
Building and Campus Maps
Calendars
Interactive Forms

If you have content that falls under either of the above categories, please reach out to the Digital Experience team to identify a better solution.

In addition, we have developed PDF Usage Guidelines that all employees should review prior to remediating a PDF.

General PDF Usage Guidelines

Going forward, these guidelines will help staff to choose the best format for documents created at the UMass President's Office.

Types of PDF Documents found on our website today:

Documents received as PDF (from a third party, vendor, software or scanned to PDF)
Legal documents
Event notifications, calendars, flyers, view books, maps
Large Annual Reports
How to Guides/Job Aids
Documents that require signatures
Forms
Meeting notes/agendas, project updates
Flowcharts/org charts

Options Instead of PDF

Most content can be a web page/HTML content.

The website provides lots of layout options and supports graphics in an accessible way
The web team can help work on special layouts if deemed necessary
Web content is easier to edit/maintain than a PDF
Multiple editors can have access
Draft/publishing workflow and revision history are built in
Even large reports can be made into book style web pages with built in navigation
Online forms can be used to take in information
Online forms can be used to do simple workflows that require approvals
Events can be advertised on the website, included in emails and event provide registration
Graphically intense content can often be added to a webpage but requires consultation with the DX Team as new layouts may be required and we will need to make sure the solution works for assistive technology users

How-to guides or job aids should be created as Knowledge articles.

Knowledge articles can include steps and screenshots
Knowledge articles can be attached to support cases directly
Customers are used to going to the Help site and Knowledge Base for support

Keep the document in Word, Excel or PowerPoint instead of PDF

Document formatting/inability to open a document is not as big a problem as it used to be
The native software provides accessibility tools and is far easier to make documents fully accessible whereas PDF never achieves full accessibility
Converting to PDF means creating the document accessibly in the original software and doing extra work once converted to make sure the conversion didn't break accessibility such as mixing up the reading order
Keeping the document in its native format means easier editing and reposting when needed

Possible Exceptions

Does UMass own this document?

If the document is provided by a third party we should work with that party to resolve any issues. In this case it may not be legal to alter the document. Consult with the DX Team for next steps.

Is there a legal requirement to save this content as a PDF?

Software limitations or legal requirements might dictate PDF format. In that case, staff need to be trained to make their PDFs as accessible as possible.

Large Reports May Require PDF for Compression Purposes

In the case that a large report has to be posted online, a PDF, made as accessible as possible, may be the best option due to file compression. However, the document should be available in another format if requested.

What about Security?

When PDF first came into being, one needed the PDF Reader to read a PDF and only those with the full (and pricy) version of Adobe Acrobat could edit PDFs. Many people still use PDF as a way of locking down a document. However, a PDF document is no longer inherently secure. Many people have the full version of Adobe Acrobat now and every Mac computer can open PDFs and convert them to other formats and then edit.

Making a document read-only in any application will likely break accessibility. If you really need a document to be secure, you should contact the DX Team and we can help brainstorm a way to secure a document that does not break accessibility.

Understanding Industry PDF Standards

There are two main industry standards to follow when remediating PDFs.

PDF/UA (Universal Access, or ISO 14289)

PDF/UA specifies the requirements an accessible PDF must fulfill, but also the requirements of authoring tools for creating accessible PDFs, readers and assistive technologies. UA stands for Universal Accessibility. PDF/UA is complementary to WCAG and focuses on the technical and PDF-specific aspects and mechanisms relating to digital accessibility.

The PDF/UA standards are based off of four principles called RISE:

Reliable: Files comply to the greatest possible extent with applicable specifications to facilitate robustness in processing across a wide range of use cases and software.
Interoperable: Elements of content can be readily exchanged between computing systems without loss of semantics.
Suitable: Suitability for the widest range of PDF processing applications and use-cases within the intended user population, taking account of special abilities, variations in capabilities, diversity in tasks, and differing environmental, economic and social circumstances.
Equitable: Equitable solutions provide the same means of use for all users: identical whenever possible; equivalent when not.

PDF/UA validation cannot be done fully with automated checkers - manual review by a human is needed as well.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

The WCAG covers 23 PDF Techniques in their success criteria, including Applying Text Alternatives to Images, Providing Interactive Form Controls, and Using table elements for table markup in PDF Documents.

How to Address the Industry Standards in Your Remediation Efforts

Many of the requirements covered in both sets of standards can be handled on the source document side prior to conversion, but the level of effort to remediate the content depends on the original source file (for example, PowerPoint will be much more extensive to remediate on the PDF side) or lack of access to an original source file.

How to Identify PDF Accessibility Issues

PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC) for Windows Computers

PAC is a globally used, free PDF accessibility checking tool that can be used on Windows computers. PAC can check many PDF/UA and WCAG requirements at the touch of a button. In addition to this, PAC also provides guidance on how to perform manual checks. PAC is considered more reliable from a data quality standpoint than Adobe Accessibility Checker, but if you are on a Mac computer, you will need to use the Adobe Accessibility Checker.

How to use PAC

Adobe Accessibility Checker for Mac Computers

Anyone using a Mac that needs to check the accessibility of a PDF can use the Adobe Accessibility Checker. Note that this checker can produce false positive and negatives so manual testing with assistive technology is also an essential step with this checker.

How to use the Adobe Accessibility Checker

Remediation Options

Remediate a PDF Yourself

If you decide to keep a document in PDF format and determine that the PDF can be remediated in house, you should complete the relevant topics related to the PDF in the following LinkedIn Learning courses facilitated by Chad Chelius:

Creating Accessible PDFs LinkedIn Learning Course (Full Course Length: 8 Hours and 16 minutes)
Advanced Accessible PDFs LinkedIn Learning Course (Full Course Length: 6 Hours and 46 minutes)

Important Note

Although Chad Chelius states that he will show folks how to make a fully accessible PDF, depending on the complexity of the PDF, there may not be a way to actually make it accessible and usable for screen reader users. It's important to reference the Before You Get Started and PDF Usage Guidelines sections of this guide before remediating a PDF.

Submit a PDF for Professional Remediation Services

If you decided to have your PDF remediated by a professional remediation service, please use one of the PDF companies that the University has contracted. The list of companies will be added as soon as the RFP process has been completed.