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Accessible PDF

PDF Association logo and /accessibility. Representing the PDF industry via our Category A Liaison with ISO TC 171 SC 2, the PDF Association provides a vendor-neutral platform for PDF’s stakeholders to come together to achieve technical consensus on advancing the specifications and standards that define PDF technology. We are deeply committed to providing the necessary infrastructure, guidance, techniques, and other resources to help developers, regulators, authors and users get on the same page about how to ensure rich, reliable, accessible PDF documents.

Of our current 19 Technical and Liaison Working Groups 5 are directly concerned with advancing the accessibility-related features of PDF technology via publication of various types of guidance, including the Tagged PDF Best Practice Guide, the Matterhorn Protocol, Well-Tagged PDF (WTPDF) (later published by ISO as PDF/UA-2 (ISO 14289-2), and most recently, the beta release of the PDF Accessibility LWG’s Techniques for Accessible PDF.

This page gathers content regarding PDF accessibility from across pdfa.org.

ISO standards for accessible PDF

The PDF Association is ISO's and ANSI's committee manager for ISO TC 171 SC 2, publisher of all ISO standards for PDF technology with the exception of ISO 15930 (PDF/X) and ISO 16612 (PDF/VT), which are developed under the auspices of ISO TC 130.

Industry specifications on accessibility

These formal industry publications define the interoperable use of PDF technology for accessibility purposes. All are freely available. Some are also published as ISO standards.

Other PDF industry publications related to accessibility

In keeping with the spirit of the original PDF Reference, all PDF Association publications are freely available.

Member communities related to accessibility

The PDF Association's volunteer communities represent the organization's true purpose and most important feature. Their primary purpose is to develop and obtain consensus on PDF specifications, test-suites, technical and application notes, best practices and other formal industry guidance. Many of these products are eventually submitted for ISO standardization via ISO TC 171 SC 2.

Accessibility is the direct or indirect focus of the following communities:

Articles on accessibility

PDF Association members can post non-commercial educational content on pdfa.org.

PDF Days presentations on accessibility

These educational presentations were presented at PDF Days events by a wide range of industry experts. Since 2022 PDF Days has been replaced with PDF Week, a technical conference meeting three times a year.

Members' products & services supporting PDF/UA

PDF Association members are entitled to post their products and services in the product showcase. and, if applicable, in the PDF Association's list of Tools for Accessible PDF. The members' posting the products listed below are claiming that the product supports PDF/UA-1. The PDF Association is not responsible for members' representation of their products or services.

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