The elephant in the new accessibility law: PDFs
If your government agency is typical, you have a lot of PDFs. Probably thousands. They are probably not accessible.
Local government agencies need to soon comply with a new federal web accessibility law. This includes making sure documents, like PDFs, are accessible.
It’s expensive to make PDFs accessible through remediation services. The underlying goal of your PDF plan should be to stop making them as much as possible.
Start now: Make a plan for how you are going to comply with this aspect of the law. The sooner you start, the easier it will be to comply.
What makes a PDF accessible
Selectable and resizable text
Sequential headings
Tags
Logical reading order
Alt text for images and graphics
Fillable form fields
Properly formatted tables
Sufficient color contrast
Video: How do I know if my PDF is accessible
What the new law says
The new accessibility law applies to PDFs (and other documents) your agency makes available online. After the compliance deadline, documents need to be accessible.
If your city or county has a population over 50K, your deadline is April 2026. If less than 50K or you’re a special district, it’s April 2027.
Exceptions
There are some exceptions for documents posted before the compliance deadline. For example:
Reference or record-keeping that will not be changed (like a technical study from 2018).
Not actively used and not used to apply for, access, or participate in a government service or program (like a flyer for a 2022 holiday parade).
Reference and record-keeping documents need to be clearly archived.
The law’s intent is to minimize the number of inaccessible documents. You should avoid exceptions if possible. Also, an exception does not apply if someone requests a document in an accessible format under current ADA law.
Make a plan
Components to consider for your PDF plan:
Learn about accessible PDFs
It’s important for departments to understand the new law and why it’s important. Everyone who creates documents and manages digital content needs to know:
How to check the accessibility of a document
How to make accessible documents
What meets the exception criteria and how to comply
Set standards
Identify types of information (like agenda, report, or brochure) and establish criteria for when a PDF is allowed in your organization. If a document does not meet the criteria, provide guidance about how to format as web content instead.
Default to web text, wherever possible. Consider allowing accessible PDFs if print formatting is needed, such as a poster.
Audit your documents
Review existing documents and identify an action for each:
Convert (web text or online form)
Remove from website
Keep and remediate
Exception: archive
Exception: leave as-is
If a document is marked to keep, the reason should meet your criteria.
Remediate inaccessible documents
You will likely have documents you plan to keep, but don’t meet the exception criteria. If they aren’t accessible, you’ll need to remediate them. There are 2 routes:
Train staff to remediate them (takes time)
Work with a remediation company (takes time and money)
Outsourcing remediation to a company sounds easy–and it’s probably the right decision in a lot of cases. Be aware that most companies will need source documents (like the original Word file) and descriptions of each graphic.
Pro tip: Ask your attorney to add language in your standard contract that requires consultants to provide documents and media in accessible formats.
Final thoughts: this is an opportunity
You may feel like this new law is an inconvenience. Shift your mindset. No one likes PDFs.
By complying with the law, you’ll:
Improve the usability of your website
Increase access to information
Make your services better
PDFs are where services go to die. This is an opportunity to move your services out of PDFs and into online forms and digital workflows.