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 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
This page provides external links to all legacy Adobe PDF references and errata, as well … 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:
Formalizing common understandings on processing tagged PDF.
Developing techniques and examples for accessible PDF.
Exploring pathways to expressing PDF content in HTML.
Accessible PDF, including oversight of ISO 14289.
Articles on accessibility
PDF Association members can post non-commercial educational content on pdfa.org.
June 2026 by Vijayshree Vethantham (Continual Engine)
From untagged content and incorrect reading order to inaccessible forms and missing alternative text, PDF accessibility issues can create barriers … Read more
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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.
Design agencies are more often requested to generate accessible PDFs besides the classical print content, mostly out of Adobe InDesign. But there are special problematic issues, often design driven, to … Read more
Die EU-Richtlinie zur Digitalen Barrierefreiheit schreibt ein regelmäßiges Monitoring vor: Wie ist der Stand der PDF-Barrierefreiheit auf den Internetseiten der deutschen Bundesministerien? Was hat sich im Vergleich zu den Vorjahren … Read more
PDF 2.0 specification introduced new features and clarifications to the document logical structure and tagged PDF documents. This talk is aimed to show what PDF 2.0 brings into play in … Read more
This session examines the workflow issues for government publishers, gives best practices and explains blending accessibility with cross-media publishing for a full overview of how to get accessibility throughout all … Read more
A detailed examination of how the Provincial Government of Ontario has implemented a cross-Ministry approach to ensuring all digital communications are accessible and compliant with PDF/UA. This will explore not … Read more
In this session we will discuss what PDF accessibility is, what’s driving the need, and what regulations and standards are applicable. We’ll also propose a multi-phase plan to help your … 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.
August 2026 by axes4 GmbH
Organizations often underestimate the business impact of inaccessible mass-produced documents. This article explores the hidden costs, the limits of manual … Read more
July 2026 by axes4 GmbH
Try axesFlip free of charge with sample documents and ready-to-use templates. Explore automated accessible PDF generation and discover how to … Read more
July 2026 by Compart GmbH
Convert existing document and data streams to PDF/UA and ensure compliance with ADA Section 508, the Accessible Canada Act, and … 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 |
| 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.