Publish an accessible PDF

Choose a structured source and export it correctly

Start in the authoring file whenever possible. Use Word heading styles, real lists, simple tables, alt text, and descriptive links before exporting. Create the PDF with the application's accessibility or tagged-PDF option. Do not use a system print dialog or “print to PDF” workflow for a public report or form: it can flatten the visual page and lose headings, reading order, links, or form semantics. Keep the source file so a correction can be made once and exported again.

Run the source file’s Accessibility Checker first. Microsoft’s export route varies by application and version:

• Windows: save a copy in PDF format, open the save dialog’s options and enable document-structure tags for accessibility. Create bookmarks from headings when useful.
• macOS: choose PDF as the file format and select the option for electronic distribution and accessibility before exporting. This uses Microsoft’s online conversion service. Confirm that sending the document to that service is permitted, and review Microsoft’s warnings for protected files before proceeding.
• Word for the web: use the File menu’s PDF download option, under Save As or Export depending on the interface. Open the downloaded file and continue the review below.

These routes preserve structure; they do not establish conformance. If your application does not expose a tagged-export option, ask the document reviewer for an approved method.

Set a meaningful title and primary language, a sensible opening view, and a stable filename. Do not use security settings that block assistive technology. For a long meeting packet or design standard, add bookmarks from document headings.

Build the tags and reading order

Tags are the PDF's structure tree. They identify headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, figures, and links so a screen reader can navigate a logical sequence. Inspect the Tags panel, not just the page view. Verify two-column order and sidebar placement, and mark decorative lines and backgrounds as artifacts.

Give meaningful figures alternate descriptions, use table tags with header relationships, and add bookmarks to long reports. For a form, label each field, set its name, role, and required or optional state, include it in the tag tree, and set tab order to follow the instructions. A visible underline or rectangle is not a field label.

Inspect long reports, tables, and drawing packets

For a recurring export, fix the report template or export settings instead of manually repairing hundreds of pages every month. Give a long report a meaningful title, document language, page numbers, and bookmarks that follow its major sections. Test the table of contents, a representative narrative page, and the first page of each repeated layout. If the report is generated by a reporting system, ask its owner how tags, headings, table headers, chart descriptions, and bookmarks are produced.

Tables need real header and cell relationships, not only colored header bands. A chart or map needs a nearby text summary or data table when its message matters. For a drawing or signage packet, provide a text index with sheet or section number, title, discipline, revision, and purpose; do not make a color legend, logo, or image-only annotation the only way to understand the task. Keep detailed drawings for users who need them, but provide an HTML or text companion for the instructions and key decisions.

Check the PDF as a user

Acrobat Pro's Accessibility Checker or Full Check is a useful defect list. Resolve failures, inspect warnings, and read the report, but treat the result as evidence for follow-up rather than a compliance certificate. Automated checks cannot judge whether alt text conveys the right information, whether a table is understandable, or whether the reading order makes sense.

1. Inspect headings, lists, tables, figures, links, and artifacts in the reading order and Tags panels.
2. Tab through links and form fields; confirm visible focus, labels, order, and error instructions.
3. Use reflow and zoom as separate checks, then copy a sample page and compare extracted text with the visual page. Text extraction does not prove that reflow is usable.
4. Have a reviewer use a screen reader on a representative section and the main task.

PDF/UA, the ISO 14289 standard for accessible PDF, is distinct from WCAG 2.2. WCAG2ICT is an informative W3C Group Note for non-web documents and software. Treat it as supplementary, not PDF/UA certification or WCAG proof; document the evaluated target and scope. Continue with the repair guide if the source is unavailable or the exported file contains structural defects.

Hand off complex PDFs with evidence

Escalate a PDF with nested tables, charts that require a long description, scanned signatures, multi-column forms, embedded files, or a reading order that cannot be repaired reliably in the source application. Send the source, PDF, checker report, page numbers, and the intended task. Ask the specialist to return a repaired file plus notes that can be applied to the source so the next edition does not repeat the same defects.