Accessible PDF
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.
ISO 14289-2:2024 (PDF/UA-2) defines the use of tagged PDF in files conforming to ISO 32000-2:2020 … Read more
ISO/TS 32005 extends ISO 32000-2 to clarify inclusion rules for using tags defined in the … Read more
ISO 14289-1:2014 (PDF/UA-1) defines the use of tagged PDF in files conforming to ISO 32000-1:2008 … Read more
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.
This document provides clarification on consuming Reference structure elements with link annotations.
This document provides clarification on non-text graphics objects representing text.
This Best Practice Guide provides recommendations for creating documents with complex technical and mathematical content … Read more
This document provides guidance and recommendations for application developers who want to create PDF files … Read more
Commercial and free PDF creation, viewing or validation software that exposes the relationship between a … Read more
These Techniques provide atomic example files and test procedures in a vendor-neutral manner, allowing PDF … Read more
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Member working groups related to accessibility
The PDF Association’s volunteer working groups 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 working groups:
Exploring pathways to expressing PDF content in HTML.
Formalizing common understandings on processing tagged PDF.
Accessible PDF, including oversight of ISO 14289.
Articles on accessibility
PDF Association members can post non-commercial educational content on pdfa.org.
September 2026 by Vijayshree Vethantham (Continual Engine)
Higher education institutions create and share countless PDFs, from course materials and syllabi to research papers, forms, and handbooks. Learn … Read more
September 2026 by PDF Association staff
The PDF Association has published two new PDF/UA-1 Technical Notes on the Use of ActualText on Figure structure elements and … Read more
July 2026 by Vijayshree Vethantham (Continual Engine)
PDF tags are the foundation of accessible documents, giving structure and meaning to content so assistive technologies can interpret it … Read more
July 2026 by Duff Johnson
How to mark a PDF file as conforming to WCAG.
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PDF Days presentations on accessibility
These educational presentations were presented at PDF Days events by a wide range of industry experts.
Accessibility training doesn’t have to be a compliance exercise. This session explores how WCAG can be organized into role-based learning paths and enhanced through gamification, helping teams build practical accessibility … Read more
Discover why PDF accessibility requires more than automation. This session explores the gap between automated tools and expert remediation, showcasing practical ideas for smarter workflows that empower accessibility professionals and … Read more
Making mathematical content accessible in PDFs is more complex than adding tags. This session explores practical approaches for representing formulas and other complex structures, comparing MathML and alternative formats while … Read more
The new Accessibility Information Label for electronic documents gives anyone who distributes electronic documents a simple and free method to demonstrate support for people with disabilities by disclosing accessibility information … Read more
Mit Bordmitteln von Microsoft Word oder LibreOffice Writer ist die Erstellung von vollständig barrierefreien PDF-Dokumente nnach PDF/UA-Standard nach wie vor noch nicht möglich und erfordert eine Nachbereitung. Aber mit entsprechenden … Read more
Normally, scanned documents are ZERO accessible and need manual post-processing. This presentation discusses auto-tagging approaches for scans and PDF Compressor will be shown live as a sample application and the … Read more
Members’ news on accessibility
PDF Association members have lots to say! pdfa.org provides a means for our members to promote their company, products and services. The PDF Association is not responsible for members’ representation of their products or services.
September 2026 by Dave Jones (GrackleDocs Inc.)
Improving the accessibility and usability of a PDF has always required either significant in-house expertise or an expensive outside service. … Read more
September 2026 by Marcel Ludwig (axes4 GmbH)
With the new axesWord Beta, you can now check the accessibility of your Word documents directly in axesWord. The new … Read more
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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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Exposing the relationship between content and tags
These tools provide an on-ramp to understanding tags as demonstrated by the PDF Association’s Techniques for Accessible PDF. Please note our disclosures.
PDF Association members who wish to include (or update) their tools on this page should contact member support.
Commercial software
| Vendor | Tool | Platform | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe | Acrobat Pro DC | Windows, Mac | Commercial |
| Allyant | CommonLook PDF | Windows | Commercial |
| axaio software | axaio MadeToTag | Windows, Mac | Commercial |
| axes4 | axesPDF | Windows | Commercial |
| Compart GmbH | DocBridge® Communication Suite | Windows, Linux | Commercial |
| Continual Engine | PREP | Online | Commercial |
| Foxit | PDF Editor + | Windows, Mac | Commercial |
| GrackleDocs | Grackle PDF | Online | Commercial |
| IDRsolutions | JPedal | Windows, Mac, Linux | Commercial |
| PDFix | PDFix Desktop Pro | Windows, Mac, Linux | Commercial |
| TargetStream Technologies | StreamEDS | Windows, Mac, Linux (Java, .NET) | Commercial |
Free / open source tools
| Developer | Tool | Platform | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allyant | CommonLook PDF Validator | Windows | Free |
| iText (Apryse) | RUPS | Windows, Mac, Linux (Java) | GNU Affero GPL |
| axes4 | PAC | Windows | Free |
| callas | PDFgoHTML | Windows, Mac | Free |
| DocAxess | PDF Usability Checker (PUC) | Online | Free |
| Dual Lab | PDF4WCAG | Online | Free |
| Dual Lab | ngPDF | Online | Free |
| GrackleDocs | Grackle GO | Online | Free |
| The LaTeX Project | ShowTags | Online | Free |
| PDFix | PDFix Desktop Lite | Windows, Mac | Free |
Learn more
Visit Tools for Accessible PDF.