Run an audit trail of approvals and signatures for the at‑risk milestone [milestone=3] handover, export the tracking r…
Open the PDF file to be checked in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
Select Tools in the upper left, then add or open the Accessibility tool.
In the Accessibility pane, select Full Check.
In the dialog that opens, under Report Options, ensure Create accessibility report is checked.
Under Checking Options, select the desired standard (e.g., WCAG 2.0 or PDF/UA) if available.
NoteIf your version of Acrobat does not list PDF/UA or WCAG options, the checker will still test for core accessibility issues relevant to both standards.
Click Start Checking to run the accessibility check.
Review the results in the Accessibility Checker panel; expand each section to see issues flagged.
Address all issues marked as Failed or Needs manual check by following the recommended fixes or using the Fix option where available.
Best practiceFor best results, avoid using 'Print to PDF' when creating documents, as this removes accessibility tags and formatting.
Repeat the accessibility check after making corrections to confirm compliance.
Save a copy of the accessibility report for documentation or auditing purposes.
Best practiceAlways verify that text is selectable and not an image; scanned PDFs are not accessible and should be remediated or recreated.
The Accessibility Checker panel provides a detailed breakdown of compliance issues and links directly to problem elements in your PDF.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
Tagging is the most important step for PDF accessibility. Tags tell screen readers and other assistive technologies the structure and meaning of your document. Without tags, these tools cannot correctly read or navigate the content, making the PDF unusable for many people.
| Standard | Focus | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| PDF/UA | Specific to PDF documents | Ensures the PDF file itself has all necessary accessibility features. |
| WCAG | General web content accessibility | Applies to all digital content, including PDFs, but is not PDF-specific. |
Yes, Acrobat can help make scanned PDFs accessible. The 'Automatically tag PDF' feature uses smart technology to identify elements like headings and paragraphs, even in scanned documents. However, you will still need to manually check and fix the reading order and add alt text for images, as automation is less accurate for scanned content.
The best approach is to fix the source document (like a Microsoft Word file) before converting it to PDF. Create your Word document with proper headings, alt text for images, and correct list structures. When you export or save this well-structured Word document as a PDF, it will already have many accessibility features built-in, saving you much time and effort later.