PDF COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST & TIPS

Revised: April 29, 2019 of 36

PDF COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST &

TIPS CREATION & REMEDIATION

PDF Compliance Checklist & Tips


Table of Contents

PDF Compliance Checklist ................................................................................................................................................ 3

Section A: All PDFs...................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Section B: PDFs Containing Color............................................................................................................................................... 5

Section C: PDFs containing Links ............................................................................................................................................... 5

Section D: PDFs Containing Images .......................................................................................................................................... 5

Section E: PDFs Containing Tables ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Section F: PDFs Containing Lists ................................................................................................................................................ 7

Section G: PDFs Containing Headings ....................................................................................................................................... 8

Section H: PDFs Containing Forms ............................................................................................................................................ 9

Section i: PDFs Containing Other Common Elements .............................................................................................................. 9

Required and Encouraged Fixes ...................................................................................................................................... 10

Required Fixes for PDF Files ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

PDF Properties and General Checks .................................................................................................................................... 11

Color ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Links ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Images .................................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Tag Structure ....................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Tables ................................................................................................................................................................................... 21

Lists....................................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Headings .............................................................................................................................................................................. 25

Forms .................................................................................................................................................................................... 26

Encouraged Fixes for PDF Files ................................................................................................................................................ 27

PDF Properties and General Checks .................................................................................................................................... 27

Links ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 28

Images .................................................................................................................................................................................. 29

Tag Structure ....................................................................................................................................................................... 30

Tables ................................................................................................................................................................................... 31

Lists....................................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Headings .............................................................................................................................................................................. 33

Forms .................................................................................................................................................................................... 33

Attachment A ................................................................................................................................................................ 34

Finding and Fixing Backend Errors ........................................................................................................................................... 34

Back-End Text Errors............................................................................................................................................................ 34

Steps to check: ................................................................................................................................................................ 34

Common Issues ............................................................................................................................................................... 34

Notes ............................................................................................................................................................................... 35

Fixing .................................................................................................................................................................................... 35



PDF Compliance Checklist

The checklist below, a series of tables, is based on the content of the PDF. Acceptable answers are: Yes,

No, or N/A. If ‘No’ is the answer to any item, then the document is not compliant.

Section A: All PDFs

These checks should be performed on all PDFs regardless of what is present in the actual content:

ID Requirements WCAG 2.0 Result

A1 Is the PDF tagged? WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.3.1

A2 Is the Document Title filled out in the Document Properties? WCAG 2.0 Success criterion

2.4.2

A3 Is the correct language of the document set? WCAG 2.0 Success criterion

3.1.1

A4 Did the PDF fully pass the Adobe Accessibility Checker? WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 4.1.1

A5 Is the document free from content that flashes more than 3

times per second?

WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 2.3.1.

A6 Are accurate bookmarks provided for documents greater

than 9 pages?

WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 2.4.5.

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/content-structure-separation-programmatic.html


http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/navigation-mechanisms-title.html


https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-doc-lang-id.html

https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-doc-lang-id.html

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/ensure-compat-parses.html


http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/seizure-does-not-violate.html


http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/navigation-mechanisms-mult-loc.html


https://www.hhs.gov/disclaimer.html








ID Requirements WCAG 2.0 Result

A7

Is the document free from review-related content carried

over from Office or other editing tools such as comments,

track changes, embedded Speaker Notes?

WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.3.1

A8 Is the order in the tag structure accurate and logical? Do the

tags match the order they should be read in?

WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.3.2.

A9 Is all informational content contained in the tag structure? WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.3.1

A10 Are all non-standard tags appropriately mapped to standard

Adobe tags?

WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 4.1.2

A11

Is all the text within the tags correctly formatted? (Free from

line breaks and split words)

See Attachment A below.

WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 4.1.1

A12 Do paragraph tags accurately represent visual paragraphs? WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.3.1

A13 Can text be resized and considered readable when magnified

to 200%?

WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.4.4 .



https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/content-structure-separation-sequence.html

https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/content-structure-separation-sequence.html



http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/ensure-compat-rsv.html

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/ensure-compat-rsv.html





http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contrast-scale.html











Section B: PDFs Containing Color

ID Requirement WCAG 2.0 Result

B1 Is information conveyed by methods other than color alone? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.4.1 .

B2 Does all text (with the exception of logos) have a contrast

ratio of 4.5:1 or greater no matter the size?

WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.4.3 .

Section C: PDFs containing Links


C1 Are links tagged correctly in the tag structure? (Contain

visual link text and link OBJR within the Link tag)


1.3.1 .

C2 Are links distinguished by a method other than color? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.4.1,

C3 Can all link text be understood out of context? If not, does

generic link have sufficient context?


2.4.4 ,

Section D: PDFs Containing Images


D1 Are all images conveying information tagged as figures and

included in the tag structure?


1.3.1 .

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contrast-without-color.html


http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contrast-contrast.html






http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/navigation-mechanisms-refs.html













D2

Do all images conveying information have alt text that

provides the same level of understanding a visual user would

gain?


1.1.1 .

D3 Are all decorative images tagged as artifact/background? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.1.1 .

D4 Do complex images have an alternate accessible means of

understanding?


1.1.1 .

D5

Is the document free from images of text? (Picture of an

informational table, screenshot of text from another source,

etc.)


1.4.5

D6 Are groups of related images tagged in a way assistive

technology user would understand?


1.1.1 .

Section E: PDFs Containing Tables


E1

Does the document use table tags only for data tables?


1.3.1.

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/text-equiv-all.html






http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contrast-text-presentation.html















E2 Does the table structure in the tag tree match the visual

table layout?


1.3.1.

E3 Are all header cells tagged with the TH tag? Are all data cells

tagged with the TD tag?


1.3.1.

E4 Do all Header cells contain text? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.3.1.

E5 Are merged cells correctly spanned with Colspan and/or

Rowspan?


1.3.1.

E6 Do data tables with 1 set of both column and row headers

appropriately use scope to associate to data cells?


1.3.1.

E7

Do data tables with more than 1 set of column and/or row

headers appropriately use id/headers to associate to data

cells?


1.3.1.

Section F: PDFs Containing Lists


F1 Are all visual lists tagged correctly with the List, List Item (LI),

and LBody tags?


1.3.1.

























F2 Does the number of items in the tag structure match the

number of items in the visual list?


1.3.1.

F3 Are nested lists appropriately nested in the tag structure? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.3.1.

Section G: PDFs Containing Headings


G1 Is text intended to act as a visual heading tagged with the

heading tags (H1 through H6)? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.3.1.

G2 Do heading tags follow a logical hierarchical progression?

(Do not skip heading levels)


1.3.1.

G3 Are heading tags used only on text that defines a section of

content?


1.3.1.

G4 Does the Heading text accurately describe the sectional

content?


2.4.6











http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/navigation-mechanisms-descriptive.html










Section H: PDFs Containing Forms


H1 Are all form fields correctly tagged? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

3.3.2

H2 Do all form fields contain understandable labels and

tooltips?


3.3.2

H3 Do tooltips contain all formatting requirements that will be

automatically flagged as an error?


3.3.2

H4 Are required fields programmatically set? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

3.3.1

H5 Is the tab order of the form fields logical? WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.3.2.

Section i: PDFs Containing Other Common Elements


i1 Is any nonstandard text (glyph) tagged in an accessible

manner?


1.1.1 .

i2 Was OCR successfully performed on a scanned image

document?


1.4.5.

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/minimize-error-cues.html






http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/minimize-error-identified.html

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/minimize-error-identified.html

https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/content-structure-separation-programmatic.html

https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/content-structure-separation-programmatic.html















i3 Was the language appropriately set for all foreign words or

phrases?


3.1.2

i4 Is the table of contents tagged with appropriate tags? (TOC,

TOC Item (TOCI))


1.3.1.

i5

Are all internal links/TOC entries functioning correctly (if

linked)?


2.4.5.

i6 Are citations and footnotes/endnotes tagged with

appropriate tags? (Reference, Note)


1.3.1.

Required and Encouraged Fixes

American Heart Association classifies accessibility errors into two categories as shown below:

• Required Fixes (RFs): violations that must be corrected and have direct mappings to either WCAG 2.0

or PDF-UA accessibility guidelines.

• Encouraged Fixes (EFs): issues that should be corrected in order to meet best-practice accessibility

standards but are not required for conformance with WCAG 2.0 or PDF-UA accessibility guidelines.

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-other-lang-id.html








https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/WCAG20-TECHS/pdf.html

https://commonlook.com/wcag-20-and-pdf-ua-your-questions-answered/

https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/WCAG20-TECHS/pdf.html

https://commonlook.com/wcag-20-and-pdf-ua-your-questions-answered/







Required Fixes for PDF Files

PDF Properties and General Checks

Issue Title Issue Description Remediation Suggestion

PDF is Untagged

The PDF contains no tags - Documents

without tags do not provide

information describing the logical

structure and relationship of elements

to users of Assistive Technology. This

issue is a violation of WCAG 2.0

Success Criterion 1.3.1

Add tags and re-submit for review. For

further assistance see: Adobe Tagged

PDF

Tab Order is Not

Specified

The tab order is not specified for at

least one page of the document. This



Set the tab order for all pages to ‘Use

Document Structure’. For further

assistance see: Adobe Defining Tab

Order

W3C PDF Technique #3

Primary Document

Language not Set

The document language has not been

set. This issue is a violation of WCAG

2.0 Success Criterion 3.1.1

Set the language dropdown under File

> Properties >Advanced Tab -to the

appropriate language. For further

assistance see: Adobe Setting Primary

Language


Document Properties

are Not Filled Out

Properly

The Title, Subject, and Author fields in

the document properties have not all

been properly populated. This issue is

a violation of AHA Guidelines

and WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

2.4.2

Provide the Title, Author, and Subject

in the Document Properties. For

further assistance, see: Adobe View

Document Properties



https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#TaggedPDF

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#TaggedPDF

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/content-structure-separation-sequence.html


https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#TabOrder

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#TabOrder

http://www.w3.org/TR/2015/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20150226/PDF3

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-doc-lang-id.html

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-doc-lang-id.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#PrimeLang

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#PrimeLang




http://help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/X/standard/using/WS58a04a822e3e50102bd615109794195ff-7c66.w.html

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/X/standard/using/WS58a04a822e3e50102bd615109794195ff-7c66.w.html














Background content was

deleted

The accessibility checker shows

content that was untagged and not

marked as an artifact. In most cases

this is introduced when background

content is deleted from the tag

structure rather than marked as an

artifact. This issue is a violation

of WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.1.1.

Find the deleted content and mark as

background/tag as artifact. For further

assistance see: W3C PDF Technique

#4

Adobe Tagged Content

Untagged Annotations

Present

The accessibility checker shows

annotations present that have not

been tagged. In most cases this is due

to hyperlinks that were created but

never tagged. This issue is a violation


Find the unmarked annotation and

appropriately tag/place in the correct

position in the tag tree or remove the

physical link. For further assistance

see:

Adobe Tagged Annotations


Document is a Scanned

Image

The document is a scan of a paper hard

copy that has not had Optical

Character Recognition run. This issue is

a violation of WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.4.5.

Enable Text Recognition by using

Optical Character Recognition and

ensure the new version is copyedited

and crosschecked against the original.

For further assistance see: Adobe

Image Only PDF


Content Flashes more

than 3 times per Second

There is content in the document that

flashes/flickers/strobes more than 3

times per second which can cause

seizures. This issue is a violation


Adjust content so it does no flash more

than 3 times per second. If possible,

remove the flashing effect completely.

For assistance see: W3C General

Technique #19




https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#TaggedCont

http://www.w3.org/TR/2015/NOTE-UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20-20150226/content-structure-separation-programmatic.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#TaggedAnnots




https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#ImageOnlyPDF

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#ImageOnlyPDF



http://www.w3.org/TR/2015/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20150226/G19
















Bookmarks Unavailable

for Document >=10

pages

The document contains at least 10

pages and does not contain proper

bookmarks. This issue is a violation


Add bookmarks for major divisions of

the document. Recommend creating

based on the heading structure or

Table of Contents if one exists. For


#2

Adobe Bookmarks

Bookmarks are

inaccurate

There are multiple bookmarks to the

same place, incorrect titles/names, or

locations are out of order. This issue is


Criterion 2.4.5.

Add, remove, or rearrange bookmarks.

Recommend creating based on the

heading structure or Table of Contents

if one exists. For assistance see: W3C

PDF Technique #2

Adobe Bookmarks

Comments, Annotations,

or Tracked Changes are

Present

The document contains collaborative

markup from the original source file

that is inaccessible and should be

removed before public distribution.

This issue is a violation of WCAG 2.0

Success Criterion 1.3.1.

Remove comments and annotations.

Accept or reject any tracked changes.

In most cases, this must be done in the

original source file.

PowerPoint Converted

to PDF has Speaker's

Notes in Separate Layer

Assistive Technology cannot access

speaker's notes created in this manner.



Notes need to be removed, or

speaker's notes need to be typed in a

Word file, converted to PDF, tagged,

and merged with the PDF.

PDF fails General

Accessibility Check The Adobe accessibility checker has

flagged an error. This issue is a

Use the built in Adobe help to diagnose

and remediate the error. For further

assistance see: Adobe Help




https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#Bookmarks





https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#Bookmarks





https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html













violation of WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 4.1.1.

Using the Adobe Accessibility

Checker

PDF Fails Assistive

Technology (AT) Review

An AT review was performed on the

PDF and it was determined to be

unusable for those whose rely on AT to

properly interpret and understand the

content. This issue is a violation

of WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1

See usability write-up for problems

encountered with AT and address.

Strongly consider another delivery

format such as HTML.

Resizing Text Causes No

Change or a Loss of

Content

When text is resized to 200% with the

built-in magnification tool, content is

either not resized or becomes

unreadable. This issue is a violation

of WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.4.4 .

Restructure content so that the text is

readable when magnified to 200%.

W3C General Technique #179

Document Title is not

Showing in Title Bar

Filename shows in the title bar instead

of the document title. This issue is a


Criterion 2.4.2.

Change Initial View to "Document

Title". For further assistance,

see: Adobe Document Title

Operational Instructions

rely on Sensory

Characteristics

Instructions are provided for operating

content on the PDF or a web page but

they rely only on shape, size, visual

location, etc. to identify the content.



Provide additional instructions that do

not rely on sensory characteristics such

as textual identification. For assistance

see: W3C General Technique #96

W3C Failure #14



http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acrobat/using-acrobat-pro-accessibility-checker.html

http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acrobat/using-acrobat-pro-accessibility-checker.html






https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#DocTitle

https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/content-structure-separation-understanding.html

https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/content-structure-separation-understanding.html

https://www.w3.org/TR/2016/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20160317/G96

https://www.w3.org/TR/2016/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20160317/F14













Color


Distinctions Beyond

Color-Only are Missing

Color-only distinctions are present and

there are no alternative means to

those distinction methods, making the

information inaccessible to both blind

and color-blind individuals. This issue is


Criterion 1.4.1 .

Convey information by context,

markup, graphic coding, or other

means in addition to color. For further

assistance see: W3C General

Technique #14

Color Contrast is

Insufficient

Color contrast ratio between text and

background is less than 4.5:1. This is a

violation of AHA Guidelines and WCAG

2.0 Success Criterion 1.4.3 .

Change color scheme by lightening or

darkening one or both of the colors.

For further assistance, see: Free

contrast analyzer tool


Charts/Graphs rely on

Color-only Legend

A color-only legend is being used for a

chart/graph that loses necessary

information for understanding when

converted to black and white. This


Success Criterion 1.4.1 .

Convey information by adding a non-

color method to the legend or

providing an equivalent text

alternative adjacent to the content. For

further assistance see: W3C General

Technique #14

Links


Links are Tagged

Incorrectly

The nesting of the Link tag, linked text,

and Link-OBJR tag is incorrect. This



Modify the tag structure so that the

<Link> tag contains the appropriate

visual link text and a Link-OBJR tag. For

further assistance, see: W3C PDF

Technique #11







http://www.paciellogroup.com/resources/contrastanalyser/























Generic Link Text is

Present

Generic link text such as ‘Click Here’,

‘Read More’, etc. is used, and there are

no clues to link destination or function

in the text immediately surrounding

the link. This issue is a violation


Modify generic link text such as ‘Click

Here’, ‘Read More’, etc. to a value so a

user can understand the destination

out of context and/or ensure that the

text surrounding the link provides

context for the link's functionality and

destination. For further assistance

see: W3CC General Technique #53

W3CC General Technique #91

Links are Only Identified

Visually by Color

Links have no visual indication from

surrounding text other than color, and

the contrast difference between the

colors is not at least 3:1. This issue is a


Criterion 1.4.1.

Modify links so they have a visual

indicator other than color (i.e.

underline) or adjust the color so there

is sufficient contrast. For assistance


Free contrast analyzer tool

Images


Image is Missing

Alternative Text

A non-decorative Figure is tagged and

lacks Alternative Text. This issue is a


Criterion 1.1.1 .

Add appropriate Alternative Text that

is equivalent to the information

conveyed by the image. For further

assistance see:

Adobe Alt Text


Webaim Alt text

Alternative Text is

Incorrect

The alternative text does not match

the actual purpose of the image. The

alternative text should contain both

the "take home message" and any

Analyze the image and correct the

alternative text to correctly

communicate the purpose of the

image. For further assistance see:


http://www.w3.org/TR/2015/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20150226/G53.html








https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#FigAltText


http://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/














actual text that is in the image itself.




Webaim Alt text

Decorative Images are

not Tagged as

Background

Images used for decoration, layout, or

other non-informative purposes have

alternative text, which is not

appropriate in that context. This issue

is a violation of WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.1.1 .

Tag all non-informative images listed in

the Locations section as artifacts or

background. For further assistance see:


Complex Images are

Missing Detailed

Descriptions

There are images present that need

more detailed, more substantive

descriptions. Examples include pie

charts, organizational charts, flow

charts, maps and graphs. This issue is a


Criterion 1.1.1 .

Add a more detailed description in the

surrounding content (preferred) or

create a visible URL to a page within

the document with the text

description. Best practices put

alternative text at no more than 150

characters, and it is not advisable to

lengthen the current alt text. For

further assistance see: W3C General

Technique #95

Webaim Alt Text

Organizational Charts

Lack Text-only Versions

There are visual Org charts that are not

accessible to users of Assistive

Technology. Relationships gained

visually such as lines connecting boxes

or other visual grouping methods such

as having boxes next to each other are

missed. This issue is a violation


Provide a text version of the chart with

alternate means of associations either

on the page (directly below the visual

org chart) or provide a link to an

existing web page that has a

comparable text only version. For

assistance see: W3C General

Technique #95

Webaim Alt Text












http://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/#complex



















Alternative is not

Equivalent

An alternate version of complex

content was provided, however there

is more information gained in the

original version and/or the information

is inconsistent when comparing the

two versions. This issue is a violation


Update the alternate version of the

content to be equivalent to the

original. For assistance see: W3C

General technique #73

Informational Image is

Tagged as Background

There is an image that visually conveys

information to the user and has been

tagged as background with no

alternate text equivalent. This issue is a


Criterion 1.1.1 .

Tag the image as a figure, move to the

appropriate position in the tag tree,

and add appropriate alt text. For


#1

Webaim Alt Text

Group of Related Images

not Tagged in an

Accessible Manner

A group of related visual elements

which show relationships amongst

textual content, such as a timeline or

flow chart, is not tagged in an

accessible manner. This issue is a


Criterion 1.1.1 .

Tag the elements as a series of figures.

The first figures should introduce the

concept of the image and the figures

that follow should capture the

text/relationships conveyed.

Alternatively, a more accessible

version of the content can be created

and linked to.

Content is not

Appropriate as in Image

An image of textual content such as a

memo, letter, or table is included

rather than the actual text version of

the content. This issue is a violation


Recreate the image as actual textual

content and appropriately tag. In some

cases, OCR can be used. For assistance

see: W3C PDF Technique #14























Tag Structure


Tag Structure does not

Reflect Logical Reading

Order

The intended reading order of the

document is not reflected in the tag

structure. This issue is a violation


Modify/retag the PDF tag structure to

reflect the logical reading order. For

further assistance see: W3C PDF

Technique #3

Informational Content is

not Tagged

The PDF contains some content

(Footnotes, text, etc.) that is both

informational and not part of the tag



Add tags for all informational content.

Tag non-informational content as

background/artifact. Ensure new tags

are placed in proper sequence in the

tag structure.

Content is Incorrectly

Tagged

Some informational content is tagged

incorrectly. This issue is a violation


Modify tags for informational content

listed. For further assistance see Adobe

Standard PDF Tags

Nonstandard Tags are

Used and Improperly

Mapped

The PDF contains nonstandard, custom

tags that are not correctly mapped in

the role map. This issue is a violation


Add functional correspondence to role

map. Strongly recommend retagging

with standard tags. Adobe Standard

PDF Tags

Table of Contents Entries

are not Correctly Tagged

A table of contents was included in the

document; however, the items were

not tagged with the appropriate Adobe

tags. This issue is a violation of WCAG

2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1

Table of contents items need to be

structured with <TOCI> tags nested

under a parent <TOC> tag. Beneath the

<TOCI> tag the item description, leader

and page number.






https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/editing-document-structure-content-tags.html


















Footnotes interrupt an

unrelated paragraph

The document contains footnotes that

split an unrelated paragraph and thus

affects the logical reading order. This



Move the footnote text in the tag

structure to either directly after the

reference number, or directly after the

paragraph that contains the reference

number. For assistance see:

Tagged Text does not

Match Visual Text

PDF text content (not the actual visual

text) contains misspellings and or

spacing issues. This is usually

introduced from conversion of the

source file or OCR. This issue is a


Criterion 1.3.1

Modify the text to match the intended

visual text. This can be remediated

either at the source file, content

editing in Adobe, or using the Actual

Text field in the properties of the tag

containing the text. (Note, if the text is

contained in a link tag, use the

Alternate Text field). For further


#13

Nonstandard Text is

Used

Text look- a-likes were used in place of

standard text, or standard text was

used to convey another meaning and

no text alternative was given. This



Modify the characters used or provide

an alternative that gives the intended

meaning of the section of non-

standard text. For further assistance

see: Adobe Character Encoding

W3C Html Technique #86

W3C Failure #71

Footnotes/Endnotes are

not correctly tagged

The document contains footnotes or

endnotes where the citation and/or

note text is not using Reference and or

Note tags. This issue is a violation


Tag footnote/endnote reference

numbers with <Reference> tags. Tag

the actual footnote with a <Note> tag.

Tag reference number in the Note tag

with a <label> tag (optional). For

further assistance









https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#CharEnc

http://www.w3.org/TR/2015/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20150226/H86

http://www.w3.org/TR/2015/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20150226/F71













see: PDF32000_2008 - PDF

(14.8.4.4.1)

Language not Set for

Foreign Words or

Phrases

The document contains text in a

language different from the main

document language which has not

been set in the properties. This issue is


Criterion 3.1.2

Specify language for all foreign words

and phrases. For further assistance

see: Adobe Setting Document

Language


Paragraph Tagging is

Insufficient

Multiple visual paragraphs are

contained in a single paragraph tag.



Tag the content so that the visual

paragraphs are reflected in the tag

structure.

Paragraph Tagging is

Excessive

A single visual paragraph is split among

multiple paragraph tags. This issue is a


Criterion 1.3.1

Tag the content so that the visual

paragraphs are reflected in the tag

structure.

Tables


Tables Used for Layout

Purposes

Table tags are present for content that

is not contained in a visual data table.

This issue is a violation of AHA

guidelines and WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.3.1.

Remove all content from the Table tag

that is not strictly part of a data table

and delete the Table tags.

http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/PDF32000_2008.pdf

http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/PDF32000_2008.pdf



http://help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/X/pro/using/WS58a04a822e3e50102bd615109794195ff-7cee.w.html

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/X/pro/using/WS58a04a822e3e50102bd615109794195ff-7cee.w.html


















Tabular Data Lacks Table

Structure

Data tables are not formatted utilizing

proper data table structural markup.

This refers to the tags Table, TR, TD,

etc. Tables that do not have correct

formatting are not accessible to users

of Assistive Technology because the

relationships between intended

headers and data is lost. This issue is a


Criterion 1.3.1.

Tag the tabular data using table tags.

For further assistance see: W3C PDF

Technique #6

Incorrect Table Structure

The tagging structure does not match

the visual representation of the table.



Retag content to match visual layout.


Technique #6

Irregular tables

The accessibility checker is flagging a

table for irregularity. This issue is a


Criterion 1.3.1.

Check the table structure in the tag

tree for consistency issues (extra rows,

cells, etc.). If accurate, check individual

cells for correct colspan/rowspan

settings. W3C PDF Technique #6


Table Headers Missing

TH Tags

The table row or column header cells

are coded as ordinary data cells,

making the tables inaccessible to users

of Assistive Technology. This issue is a


Criterion 1.3.1.

Add <th> tag to all header cells and

ensure that each <th> tag surrounds

the text of the row or column header.

Then properly associate to data cells.


Technique #6





























Missing Header Cell

Content

Table header cells contain no text. This



If the cell is purposely blank and is the

first cell in the column and row in the

table, retag as a data cell. Otherwise,

add appropriate text for the header

cell or reformat the table. For further


#6

Table Header Cells are

not Associated with Data

Cells for a Table with

Row and Column

Headers

Table header cells are not properly

scoped for a table with a single set of

both column and row headers. This



Add proper scope for column and row

header cells. For further assistance

see: W3C HTML Technique #63

Table Header and Data

Cells are not Properly

Associated in a Table

with Multiple Column

and/or Row Headers

Data table has multiple levels of row

and/or column headers and lacks the

necessary coding associating the data

cells with their respective headers, or

the coding is present but incorrect.



Set the id field of all header cells and

correctly associate it with the headers

field of all data cells. For further

assistance see: W3C HTML Technique

#43

TH Tags Used on Data

Cells

TH tags have been used on table cells

containing only data. TH tags should

just be used on cells containing Header

information only. This issue is a


Criterion 1.3.1.

Retag the cell(s) with a TD tag. For


#20














https://www.w3.org/TR/2013/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20130905/PDF20












Lists


Visual Lists are

Incorrectly Tagged

A visual list is present but is tagged as

plain text in the tag structure. This



Modify the tags. Each list structure

must consist of a parent <L> tag and

subsequent list item <LI> tags for each

item in the list. Each list item <LI> tag

must contain a list item body <LBody>

tag that contains the text of the item.

Each list item should contain a label

<lbl> tag that includes the number or

bullet of the item. For further

assistance, see: W3C PDF Technique

#21

List Item Identifiers are

Missing

A list structure is present but are

missing the necessary List Item and/or

List Item Body tags. This issue is a


Criterion 1.3.1 .

Add missing tags. Each list structure

must consist of a parent <L> tag and

subsequent list item <LI> tags for each

item in the list. Each list item <LI> tag

must contain a list item body <LBody>

tag that contains the text of the item.

Each list item should contain a label

<lbl> tag that includes the number or

bullet of the item. For further

assistance, see: W3C PDF Technique

#21

Multiple List Items are

Combined

More than one item of a visual list is

combined into a single tag. This issue is


Criterion 1.3.1 .

Tag each list item separately. For

further assistance, see: W3C PDF

Technique #21






















Nested Lists are

Incorrectly Tagged

Visually nested lists are not tagged as

such. This issue is a violation of WCAG

2.0 Success Criterion 1.3.1 .

Tag each sub list as a sibling or child to

the LBody tag of the appropriate list

item. For further assistance, see: W3C

PDF Technique #21

List items are Broken

into Multiple List

Structures

List tags are used, but a single visual

list is broken up into multiple single

item list structures, which is confusing

to Assistive Technology users. This



Properly code list structures. For

further assistance see: W3C PDF

Technique #21

Headings


Heading Tags are

Missing

Text has been visually altered to act

like a heading, but the text has not

been tagged as heading. Without using

heading tags, to Assistive Technology

users, this text appears no different

than normal paragraph text. This issue

is a violation of WCAG 2.0 Success

Criterion 1.3.1 .

Tag the heading text with appropriate

heading tags and ensure a logical

hierarchy of heading levels is

maintained. For further assistance

see: W3C PDF Technique #9

Heading levels

Improperly Structured

and/or Skipped

Heading tags have been implemented

but heading levels were either skipped

(for example, H2 to H4) or did not

move down a level when a logical

subsection was present. This issue is a


Criterion 1.3.1 .

Review the heading tags and adjust the

structure so that subsections of

previous headings use the next level,

and that there are no heading level

skips present. For further assistance

see: W3C HTML Technique #42


























Heading Tags Used on

Decorative Text

Heading tags have been used on

decorative text. Heading tags should

only be used on text that is defining a

new section of the document. This



Retag the content with the normal

paragraph tag. For assistance see: W3C

Failure #54

Heading does not

Accurately Describe

Section of Content

A heading was included to define a

section of content, but it is either not

descriptive or does not accurately

define the contents of the section. This



Modify the text of the heading to

accurately describe the content of the

section it defines. For assistance


Forms


Form Fields are not

Tagged

At least one form field in the document

has not been added to the tag



Add all form fields to the tag structure,

and then reposition the tags within the

tag tree so that they are in the correct

order. For further assistance

see: Adobe Tagged Form Fields

Labels Conveying the

Purpose of Each Form

Control are Missing or

Inaccurate

Tooltips were either not provided for

at least one form field, or the tooltip is

generic and does not provide the user

with any information to identify the

purpose or format of the form. This



Add tooltips to all forms. Provide

accurate text that identifies the fields

as well as any formatting requirements

that are programmatically enforced.

For further assistance see:


Adobe Field Descriptions









https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#TaggedFormFields




https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/create-verify-pdf-accessibility.html?trackingid=KACNN#FormFieldNames













Tab Order for Forms

Does Not Match Visual

Order

When tabbing through form fields, the

focus does not follow the same order

as the visual layout of the page

suggests. This issue is a violation


Reset tab order to match logical

reading order.

Required Field Indicator

is not Provided

Required fields were set

programmatically in Adobe, but this is

only communicated visually by a color

only method. This issue is a violation


Add a visual non color dependent

method to indicate a field is required.

Encouraged Fixes for PDF Files

PDF Properties and General Checks


Inconsistent Page

Numbering

Page numbers displayed in the Adobe

PDF viewer does not correlate to the

page numbers in the body of the

document. For example, navigating to

page 10 in the viewer takes the user to

a page numbered 8 in the document.

Edit the PDF page numbering so that it

matches the displayed page numbers

in the document. For further assistance

see:

W3C PDF technique #17

Abbreviations are

Undefined

An abbreviation was used in the

document; however, it was either

never defined, or it has multiple

meanings within the document.

On first use, completely spell out the

content followed by the abbreviation

in parentheses. Alternatively, put each

instance of the abbreviation in a span

tag and set the ‘Actual Text’ to the full

meaning. For further assistance see:

WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 3.1.4



http://www.w3.org/TR/2014/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20140408/pdf.html#PDF17

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-located.html








Page Contains an

Accessible Alternative

for Inaccessible Content

The document contains an alternate

version for a piece of content that can

be made accessible on its own. When

implementing a separate but equal

version, the disabled are treated as if

they’re not as important as abled

individuals.

Make original content fully accessible

and remove alternate version. For

further assistance see:

Webaim Text Only Versions

Navigational Direction is

Device Dependent

For instructional commands, only

mouse device instructions such as click,

or hover are given.

Use device independent navigation

such as select, navigate, and activate.

Non hyperlinked text is

underlined

Underlines typically indicate that text

is hyperlinked. Underlining text that is

not linked can cause confusion for

users.

Remove underlines from all text that is

not linked.

Links


Links are Tagged

Incorrectly

The nesting of the Link tag, linked text,

and Link-OBJR tag is incorrect. This

issue is a violation of Section 508

and WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion

1.3.1 .

Modify the tag structure so that the

<Link> tag contains the appropriate

visual link text and a Link-OBJR tag. For

further assistance, see:


Generic Link Text is

Present

Generic link text such as ‘Click Here’,

‘Read More’, etc. is used, and there are

no clues to link destination or function

in the text immediately surrounding

Modify generic link text such as ‘Click

Here’, ‘Read More’, etc. to a value so a

user can understand the destination

out of context and/or ensure that the

text surrounding the link provides

http://webaim.org/articles/design/textonly










the link. This issue is a violation


context for the link's functionality and

destination.

For further assistance see:



Links are Only Identified

Visually by Color

Links have no visual indication from

surrounding text other than color, and

the contrast difference between the

colors is not at least 3:1. This issue is a


Criterion 1.4.1.

Modify links so they have a visual

indicator other than color (i.e.

underline) or adjust the color so there

is sufficient contrast. For assistance

see:


Free contrast analyzer tool

Links are not

Distinguishable out of

Context

Generic link text was used and is only

understandable when in context with

the surrounding content. Assistive

Technology users also navigate pages

by bringing up a list of all the links on

the page. Having link text that is

understandable out of context helps

users navigate by this method.

Modify the link text so that the

purpose of the link is understandable

when read on its own. For further

assistance see:

WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 2.4.9

Images


Verbose or Redundant

Alternative Text is

Present

Alternative text repeats adjacent text

or contains extraneous wording such

as “image of...”, “this image shows...”,

etc.

Revise alternative text to eliminate

extraneous wording. For further

assistance see:








http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/navigation-mechanisms-link.html











Webaim Alt text

Tag Structure


Alternate Tag Structure

would enhance usability

Although the current tagging of a piece

of content meets WCAG 2.0 guidelines,

the tagging may confuse users who

rely on screen readers. An alternate

tagging would enhance

understandability.

Retag the content as described in the

Location column.

Empty Tags are Present

The document contains at least one

tag that is empty (has no content), and

no value is in the Actual Text or

Alternate Text fields.

Remove all empty tags from the

document.

Excessive Sectional Tags

are Present

There are excessive sectional/division

tags in the tree structure that are not

necessary and give the impression of

an incorrectly tagged document.

Remove unnecessary sectional tags

from the document.

Background Content is

Tagged

Empty background content has been

tagged and appears in the tag

structure.

Mark all background content as

artifacts. For further assistance see:


Repetitive content in the

header/footer is tagged

Content from running headers or

footers in the document has been

tagged. This can be annoying to users

Tag all repetitive content in the

header/footer as background








of assistive technology and disrupt the

flow of the document.

(including pagination). For further

assistance see:



Tables


Repeated Headers are

not Tagged as

Background

A data table spans more than one page

and the repeated header row on each

page is tagged instead of being marked

as background.

Tag all repeated headers as

background and remove TR tags from

tag tree.

A Complex Table is Able

to be Reformatted into a

Series of Simple Tables

There is a complex data table (one with

multiple column or row headers) on

the page. Even when properly coded,

complex tables can be difficult for

Assistive Technology users to

understand. In most cases, complex

tables can be broken up into a series of

simple tables.

Modify the complex data table into a

series of simple data tables.

Data Cells Split Across

Pages

A data table cell spans more than one

page. This can be an issue for

individuals with cognitive disabilities in

understanding the content when a cell

starts on one page and ends on

another.

Recreate table in source file with

"Allow row to split across pages"

unchecked.

Header Row not

Repeated Across Pages

A data table spans more than one

page, but the header row is not

repeated. This can be an issue for

Recreate table in source file with

"Repeat Header Rows" enabled. If

implemented, also recommend setting








individuals with cognitive disabilities in

understanding the content when a

table starts on one page and ends on

another.

repeated headers as background for

assistive technology users.

A Table Title is

Contained in the Table

Body

The title of the table is contained in the

body of the table, causing the table to

be considered complex. Data table

bodies should only contain the header

cells and the subsequent data cells.

Remove the title of the table from the

body and place it in a caption tag or

above the table in a logical heading

tag.

Lists


List Structure is Missing

a Label

List bullets or other identifiers are

contained in the <Lbody> tag instead

of a separate <Lbl> tag.

Add missing label tags. Each list item

<LI> tag should contain a label <lbl> tag

that includes the number or bullet.

For further assistance, see:


List items may be better

understandable as

headings

Content was tagged as a list because of

the inclusion of a numerical sequence,

however, because of the amount of

content in between each list item,

headings may be more

understandable.

Convert list items into headings with

the appropriate heading level.





Headings


Headings Contain Too

Much Information

Headings are too verbose and should

be condensed.

A Heading should be a short,

descriptive title of a section or

category.

Forms


Indication of Field

Format Requirements

not Included

A form field has automatic validation

to make sure the content is in a

particular format, but there is no

indication to the user of the format

prior to receiving the error.

Provide the desired format

requirements in the visual text prior to

the field. For further assistance see:






Attachment A

Finding and Fixing Backend Errors

Back-End Text Errors

Though text may look accurate visually, on the back end there may be typos or additional spacing that

will cause screen readers to announce incorrect content. This can occur in any document but is more

common to occur when a program other than Office was used to construct the original document.

Steps to check:

1. Open the PDF.

2. Select File > Save as other > More Options > Text (Plain).

3. Select a save location.

4. Select Save.

5. Navigate to and open the text file in Word

6. Using built in tools for grammar and spell checking, look for typos or spacing issues (only need to

worry about the underlined red instances. Even then, only when there’s an actual issue, for example,

names and scientific terms may be underlined)

7. Compare results to the visual document.

Common Issues

1. Tagged text does not match visual text



“Follow these directions to ensure a positive migration experience”

Notes

• This issue will NOT be caught by the Adobe Accessibility checker.

• Reading order issues can also be spotted here, but they are easier to spot with the technique further

down in this document.

• Alt text of images will be included in the document, so typos can be spotted there as well

• Issues can be fixed in the PDF, but it’s better for authors to diagnose the issues in the source so as to

avoid in future documents.

• The initial save as the text file seems to replicate the closest experience as to what assistive-

technology users’ experience, as such it is NOT recommended to save directly as a Word file in this

evaluation.

Fixing

For each instance:

1. Open the tags tree from Adobe

2. Go to the tag containing the issue

3. Right click and do copy contents to clipboard



4. Right click the tag again and select properties

5. Paste into the “Actual Text” field

6. Fix the issue within the actual text field.

PDF COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST & TIPS

Documents

Transcript of PDF COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST & TIPS