When organizations begin their journey toward digital accessibility, one of the first things they often look for is a PDF accessibility checker. These tools scan PDF documents to identify whether or not they are accessible and what needs to be fixed in order to make them accessible. The more challenging step comes in figuring out how to actually make those fixes. When used together, an accurate, robust PDF accessibility checker and an easy-to-use PDF accessibility tool like Equidox can make an organization’s compliance journey clear and simple.
What a PDF Accessibility Checker Can (and Can’t) Do
A PDF accessibility checker will scan your document and flag issues such as:
- Untagged elements
- Missing alt text
- Incorrect heading level nesting
- Table structure problems
- Form field issues
- Missing metadata
These tools are useful for testing and auditing your documents, but they don’t fix the problems. They simply tell you what’s wrong with some technical elements of the PDF.
PDF accessibility checkers also can’t identify whether many of the technical elements like tags or alt text are accurate. So while items such as tags and alt text might be present and therefore pass the checker, a document could still be uncompliant if the alt text simply reads “Image” or if items are not read in the order in which they were intended.
What to Look for When Choosing a PDF Accessibility Checker
The right tool can help you identify barriers to access while supporting compliance with standards like WCAG and Section 508.
It’s worth noting again that checkers can’t catch everything. Only a review with an actual screen reader can tell you whether the accessibility features are both present and accurate.
1. Standards Compliance
Ensure the checker tests against current accessibility standards such as WCAG 2.1. These are the benchmarks for many legal and most functional accessibility, and your checker should evaluate documents accordingly.
2. Detailed Issue Reporting
A good checker doesn’t just tell you that something is wrong—it explains why and where. Look for detailed, easy-to-understand reports that pinpoint missing tags, improper reading order, inaccessible tables, and other issues that affect usability.
3. Screen Reader Simulation
Some checkers offer previews or simulations of how a document will be read by screen readers. This is invaluable for understanding the real-world impact of accessibility barriers. While Equidox is not a checker, it does offer an HTML preview of remediated documents to simulate what an assistive technology user would see. This allows users to ensure their remediation efforts have produced accessible, compliant documents as they go through the accessibility process.
Equidox also provides output warnings (search blogs for exact language here) that help pinpoint many common accessibility issues such as missing alt text, missing table summaries, heading structure errors and more.
4. Regular Updates
Accessibility standards and technologies evolve. Make sure your checker is actively maintained to keep up with new guidelines and document structures.
The Next Step: Pair Your PDF Accessibility Checker with Equidox
Once you’ve identified compliance issues using a PDF accessibility checker, the issues will need to be fixed. Equidox is a powerful PDF remediation tool that enables organizations to fix the accessibility issues—without requiring advanced technical skills.
It’s not just about passing a checker. It’s about making documents truly usable by everyone.
What Equidox Does:
- Auto-Detects Page elements: Automatically identifies headings, lists, tables, reading order, and more—no manual tagging required.
- Streamlines Remediation: Fix accessibility issues in just a few clicks using an intuitive interface.
- HTML Previews: See how your PDF will be read aloud to ensure a clear and logical experience for assistive technology users.
- Provides output warnings to allow users to correct some of the most common errors before using a checker
Steps towards meeting compliance goals
The first steps towards making your PDFs accessible and compliant are to identify accessibility problems using a checker, and to correct them using Equidox. These tools work together to help organizations determine what PDFs are inaccessible and how to make them compliant quickly and easily to help avoid lawsuits and reach inclusion goals.
Nina Overdorff
Nina comes to Equidox with years of sales and marketing experience from a variety of industries and holds a BS in Language Arts Education. Nina has a passion for words, storytelling, and information, which she believes everyone should have access to regardless of ability. After spending time as a teacher with a blind student, she became much more aware of the limitations and abilities of web accessibility, and how essential it is to those experiencing disabilities. “Being able to access information equally ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity for education, employment, and success in life.”
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