How to Create an Accessible PDF from Scratch

Before diving into creation steps, you need to understand what makes a PDF accessible. The two primary standards are WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility, ISO 14289). WCAG focuses on perceivability, operability, understandability, and robustness. PDF/UA provides technical requirements specifically for PDF files. Key accessibility requirements include: proper document tagging (every element must be tagged with its role — heading, paragraph, figure, table, list), logical reading order (the order content is read aloud must match visual order), alternative text for all meaningful images, proper table structure with headers identified, form fields that are labeled and navigable by keyboard, sufficient color contrast (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text), language specification in document metadata, and a meaningful document title. Understanding these requirements upfront prevents costly retrofitting later. It is far easier to build accessibility in from the start than to fix a finished document.

The foundation of an accessible PDF is a well-structured source document. Whether you are working in Word, InDesign, or another application, the principles are the same. In Microsoft Word, use the built-in Heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3) rather than manually bolding and enlarging text. Use the actual List styles for bullet and numbered lists. Add alt text to every image by right-clicking it and selecting 'Edit Alt Text.' Use the Accessibility Checker under the Review tab to catch issues before export. Ensure your table has a header row designated as such. In Adobe InDesign, use Paragraph Styles consistently, tag all frames using the Articles panel to define reading order, and use the Object Export Options dialog to set alt text for images. The Articles panel is critical — it defines the order in which tagged content is read aloud. For Google Docs, use the heading styles from the Format menu, add alt text to images, and use native list formatting. When you export to PDF via File > Download > PDF Document, Google Docs preserves heading structure reasonably well, though you may need further refinement in Adobe Acrobat.

1. 1Use built-in heading styles (H1, H2, H3) for all section titles — never fake headings with bold text
2. 2Add descriptive alt text to every image: right-click the image, choose Edit Alt Text, and write a meaningful description
3. 3Use native list styles for all bullet and numbered lists to ensure proper tagging
4. 4Define table header rows explicitly — in Word, check 'Header Row' in Table Design; in InDesign use Table Style with header rows
5. 5Set the document language in File > Properties (Word) or Document Setup (InDesign)
6. 6Run the built-in accessibility checker in your source application before exporting

How you export to PDF determines whether your accessibility work is preserved or discarded. Each application has specific export settings you must configure. In Microsoft Word, go to File > Save As > PDF, then click Options. Check 'Document structure tags for accessibility,' 'Document properties,' and 'Create bookmarks using: Headings.' Do NOT use the Print to PDF option — it discards all tags and produces an untagged, inaccessible PDF. In Adobe InDesign, use File > Export > Adobe PDF (Interactive) or Adobe PDF (Print), and in the export dialog go to the Advanced tab. Check 'Create Tagged PDF' and 'Create Acrobat Layers.' Also check the Hyperlinks and Bookmarks options as appropriate. For Google Docs, the built-in PDF export preserves heading tags reasonably well, but you should open the resulting PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro or a free tool like PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker) to verify the tag tree. Once exported, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro and run the Accessibility Full Check (Tools > Accessibility > Full Check). Review each failure and use the Reading Order tool and Tags panel to fix issues manually.

Creating an accessible PDF is not complete until you have tested it. Automated checkers catch structural issues but cannot fully replace manual testing with actual assistive technology. Start with automated tools. Adobe Acrobat Pro's built-in Accessibility Checker is the most commonly used. PAC 2021 (PDF Accessibility Checker) is a free, thorough tool available for Windows that tests against both PDF/UA and WCAG. NVDA (free) or JAWS (commercial) are screen readers you can use to listen to your document as a user with visual impairment would. During manual testing, verify that headings are read in the correct order, images have their alt text announced, tables are navigable with tab key, form fields (if any) have spoken labels, the reading order matches visual layout, and the document title appears in the title bar. Common issues to look for: figures tagged as 'Figure' but missing alt text, decorative images not marked as artifacts, tables without header row tags, reading order that jumps around columns incorrectly, and text embedded in images without OCR text layer. Once you have a clean, accessible PDF, you can use LazyPDF's organize and merge tools to combine multiple accessible documents. LazyPDF preserves the underlying PDF structure when performing these operations, helping maintain your accessibility work.

Organizations often need to combine multiple PDFs into a single document — for reports, packets, or portfolios. Merging PDFs can sometimes disrupt accessibility if not done carefully. When merging accessible PDFs, ensure each source document is already tagged and accessible before combining. After merging with a tool like LazyPDF, open the combined document and verify the tag tree is intact. Check that bookmarks from each source document have been preserved and updated to reflect the new page numbers. Re-run the accessibility checker on the combined file. If you are adding a cover page or table of contents, create those as accessible documents from the start, not as scanned images or untagged PDFs. The table of contents should use proper links that jump to the correct page anchors. Page numbering in combined documents should be consistent and logical. Screen reader users often navigate by page number, so logical, sequential numbering helps with orientation. LazyPDF's page-numbers tool can add consistent page numbers to a merged document.