Create an accessible claim summary for claimant [claimant=Robert Milton] by exporting the summary PDF with accessibili…
Open the PDF document you want to check for accessibility.
Click the Tools tab at the top of the Acrobat window.
Scroll through the list and select Accessibility to add the Accessibility tools to your workspace if they are not already visible.
Best practiceIf you do not see the Accessibility tools, you may need to add them from the Tools pane as they are not shown by default.
In the Accessibility tools pane, click Full Check.
In the Accessibility Checker Options dialog, review the settings and click Start Checking.
Best practiceFor a thorough check, ensure all checkboxes are selected before starting the check.
Review the results displayed in the Accessibility Checker panel on the left side of the screen.
You can right-click in the Navigation Pane to show the Accessibility tags panel for more detailed tag inspection.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
PDF/UA is a specific standard just for PDF documents, focusing on technical requirements within the PDF itself. WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is a broader set of guidelines for all kinds of digital content, including websites and documents, but it is not specific to PDF. Many regulated jobs need to follow both standards to make sure documents are fully accessible.
It is much easier and faster to make a document accessible in its original program, like Microsoft Word. When you create a PDF from an accessible Word document, many of the accessibility features carry over automatically. Fixing an already-made PDF that is not tagged takes a lot of time and effort because you have to add all the structure and descriptions manually.
Yes, even if your PDF is a scanned image, Acrobat's 'Automatically tag PDF' tool can still help. It uses smart technology (Sensei) to identify headings, tables, lists, and paragraphs, even in scanned documents. This means you can start the accessibility process for scanned PDFs, but you will still need to check and fix details like reading order and alt text yourself.
Tagging in a PDF means adding hidden labels that describe the different parts of your document, like headings, paragraphs, lists, and images. These tags create a logical structure that screen readers and other assistive technologies use to understand and present the content to users. Without proper tagging, a screen reader cannot tell a heading from a regular paragraph, making the document very hard to navigate for someone who cannot see it.