PDFs are critical in enabling smooth reading experiences for everyone, but especially for multilingual readers or people using assistive technologies. The problem is, basic technical issues can limit the value of this vital tool if not properly handled. So what are the details to watch out for, and what can be done to fix existing issues? How can you ensure your PDFs are an accessibility dream, not a nightmare?

Portable document formats, or PDFs, efficiently carry and display content, irrespective of the program used to create them. They retain the structural integrity of the document and enable print-ready documents to be shared. 

However, PDFs do pose occasional accessibility challenges that stem from file creation. 

First, let’s see what makes a PDF not accessible: 

• If it is not searchable. PDFs with scanned images in place of text are not readable by search engines. As a result, it will not show up in search results and discovery opportunities are lost. A PDF can perform poorly in search for other reasons, too, as discussed later. 
• If it is not formatted well. If the title, subheads, tables, and other metadata are not formatted or tagged appropriately, people with disabilities often have trouble reading them with screen readers. 
• If it has junk characters. This poses problems at the very first, visual level where users have trouble reading the content. It may happen when text from other languages has not been imported well from other document formats. 

However, if your company or organization wishes to reach wider audiences — which may include people with disabilities or multilingual readers — it would be a good idea to look at PDF remediation or the process of making PDFs accessible. This is also required by laws such as the German Accessibility Improvement Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz – BFSG), the European Accessibility Act (2025), and ADA updates (2026) that stipulate that digital products and services must be made accessible to people with disabilities. 

The PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) ISO Standard provides guidelines for creating accessible PDFs. These guidelines help make the file accessible to the “widest possible audience, including those with disabilities.” 

Remember that accessibility enablers make life easier for people with disabilities, but they are also convenient to everyone else. When PDFs can be used without any glitches, web users and your customers meet their objectives faster, are more satisfied, and are also more likely to share the PDFs. 

What does PDF remediation entail?

With a few simple steps, creating user-friendly and accessible PDFs is a simple process.

Tagging documents properly so they’re usable by screen readers. To do this, all metadata must be marked and labeled appropriately. Metadata includes document title, author, subject, keywords, language settings, and creation or modification dates. 

• The title helps people using screen readers to know the purpose of the document accurately and quickly. 
• Specifying the language helps screen readers punctuate and modulate appropriately. 
• Even tables need to be tagged to allow for assistive technology to interpret them. 

Tags are not visual elements. Neither are they the only elements of an accessible PDF, but without tags, a PDF is not considered accessible. 

Increasing the searchability of the document by providing keywords, subject, and alt tags. This helps search engines index the document and list it in search results. Embedding alternative or alt text for images and charts provides the context for these non-text elements. If you use an image and do not provide the alt text for it, the screen reader will simply announce the file name of the image. Often, this may not make sense and disrupts the reading experience. Well-written alt tags, on the other hand, can add meaning by clarifying what the image or chart is about. 

Improving the semantic structure by tagging different elements of the text correctly. For example, marking the headings and subheads with H1, H2 levels, lists, and paragraphs. This provides a clear and meaningful structure to the document. 

Making PDF forms accessible. People often need to use PDF forms to access a service, file their returns, and even vote. Hard-to-use PDF forms can seriously affect civic rights at the worst and provide an unsatisfactory user experience at the least. Best practices to make PDF forms accessible are:

• Add tool tips to fields. When hovered over, they quickly explain what the field is for. 
• Tag all form fields. 
• Set the correct read order. Sometimes the regular left-to-right reading order may not make sense. It would benefit the reader more if the read order prioritizes the flow of the document. It may be necessary to arrange the content logically to follow the intended flow. 

These are only a few of the steps for PDF remediation. Several more may be necessary, depending on the PDF content and what purpose it intends to serve. 

Once the PDF has been remediated, it will have to be validated and undergo quality checks. A PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC) report can be generated to comprehensively evaluate compliance with international accessibility standards, specifically PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2.

Takeaway: An accessible PDF is not merely a nice-to-have, but a must-have if you intend to create an inclusive, friction-free document. By making it easy to find, read, use, and share, you avoid broken user experiences and reduce back-and-forth emails and calls to customer care. It will also scale your reach to a much larger audience.