Guides
In-depth pillar guides on document accessibility, remediation workflows and compliance deadlines, written for the people who have to do the work.
Every guide shows the date it was last revised and lists the primary sources it relies on. When a rule changes, the guide is revised and the date moves.
12 guides · last revised All resources: guides, comparisons and the blog
Start here
One guide covers the whole remediation process; the other answers the question most readers arrive with.
Pillar guide
The complete PDF remediation guide
How PDF remediation actually works: tagging, reading order, alt text, tables and forms — what each step involves, what can be automated, and how to verify the result.
In this guide
Updated 3-minute read
Most asked
How much does PDF accessibility cost
What PDF remediation actually costs: the per-page pricing models, what drives a document up the price scale, and how automated remediation changes the math.
Updated 3-minute read
What are you trying to do?
| If you need to… | Read |
|---|---|
| Understand your legal obligation | |
| Work out what it will cost | |
| Choose an approach or a vendor | |
| Set up a process that lasts | |
| Handle the hard documents | |
| Solve a sector problem | |
| Do all of it |
4 guides
Regulations and obligations
What the rules ask of your documents, read as a practitioner. For the text of each law, see the compliance guides.
ADA Title II document requirements explained
What the DOJ's Title II web accessibility rule requires for PDFs and other documents: the WCAG 2.1 AA standard, who is covered, the deadlines, and the exceptions.
Updated 4-minute read
Archived content exceptions: what actually qualifies
The ADA Title II archived-content and preexisting-document exceptions, read closely: the four conditions, what breaks the exception, and how to apply it without gambling.
Updated 2-minute read
AODA and ACA document obligations
What Ontario's AODA and the federal Accessible Canada Act require for documents: who is covered, the WCAG standards, compliance reporting, and how the two laws interact.
Updated 2-minute read
Course materials and Title II for public universities
How the ADA Title II web rule applies to syllabi, readings and LMS content at public colleges and universities — and how to run remediation at academic scale.
Updated 3-minute read
3 guides
Planning and cost
Budget, buying and tooling decisions to settle before the work starts.
How much does PDF accessibility cost
What PDF remediation actually costs: the per-page pricing models, what drives a document up the price scale, and how automated remediation changes the math.
Updated 3-minute read
Preparing a procurement package for accessibility software
How to buy document accessibility software as a public entity: requirements that separate vendors, evaluating VPATs, pricing comparisons and contract terms that protect you.
Updated 3-minute read
Choosing between Acrobat, checkers and automation
The three tool categories for document accessibility — manual editors, checkers and automated remediation platforms — what each actually does, and how to combine them.
Updated 2-minute read
3 guides
Doing the work
The remediation itself, and the two document types that resist it most.
The complete PDF remediation guide
How PDF remediation actually works: tagging, reading order, alt text, tables and forms — what each step involves, what can be automated, and how to verify the result.
Updated 3-minute read
Fillable forms: the hardest documents to remediate
Why PDF forms are the most expensive documents to make accessible: field labels, tab order, error handling — and when rebuilding as a web form beats remediating.
Updated 2-minute read
Scanned documents and OCR for accessibility
Why scanned PDFs fail every accessibility standard, how OCR fits into remediation, and how to decide between OCR, re-creation and archiving for a scanned backlog.
Updated 2-minute read
2 guides
Keeping it working
The habits that keep a library accessible after the project ends.
Building an accessible document policy
A template for the internal policy that keeps documents accessible after the remediation project ends: scope, standards, roles, workflow gates and measurement.
Updated 2-minute read
Meeting minutes and agendas: a workflow for clerks
A publishing workflow that makes every agenda, packet and set of minutes accessible by default — built for city and district clerks with weekly deadlines.
Updated 2-minute read
Recently updated
The 3 guides revised most recently.
Also see
Compliance guides
The regulations themselves: ADA Title II, Section 508, HHS Section 504, WCAG 2.1 AA, PDF/UA, AODA and the European Accessibility Act.
Free tools
Check one PDF, scan a whole site or find your deadline. No account.
Comparisons
DocoMatic against manual remediation and Acrobat's auto-tagging.
The blog
News and analysis on document accessibility.