Tags establish logical reading order and to provide a means for indicating structure and type, adding alternative text descriptions to nontext elements and substitute text referred to as actual text for elements in the pdf document. Any and all digital communications that a company under section 508 jurisdiction creates must be 508 compliant. Ada and section 508 compliance standards require certain levels of document accessibility, which should be met to avoid legal issues including complaints, litigation costs, and damages. You can also start implementing strategies from the first stage of content creation to help ensure 508 compliance for pdf files.
Pdf product family and tagged add accessibility tags to pdf, create accessible pdf, create pdf with section 508 accessibility, create pdf ua compliant pdf, aspsoe. One alternative is to use adobe acrobat to rescan the document to text with ocr activated. If approved the document is ready to be delivered to the client. How to create a 508 compliant microsoft word document by using the builtin features within microsoft office, to include word, you can avoid many of the most common mistakes related to accessibility. Therefore, the best form for accessibility is one that. Documents must be accessible to all individuals including those with. Unfortunately, persons with disabilities, who utilize screen readers or other assistive technologies to read the content of pdfs, often cannot access the content because the documents are not section 508 compliant. The ada staff use industry leading tools, specialized training, and a refined remediation process to ensure consistent certified results. All documentation must be approved by fta before distribution to the public and prepared in a format specified by fta. The resources in this section were developed by federal agencies and shared here for your convenience. If you open a pdf that conforms to one of these standards, you can view the standards information in the navigation pane. Pdf files should not be used for short documents 508 standards. Scanned images of text are unable to be accurately interpreted by screen readers and cannot be made compliant. Format this tool provides bulleted instruction on how to format documents to be 508 compliant.
The full check tool verifies whether the document conforms to accessibility standards, such as pdfua and wcag 2. If the pdf document contains 9 or more pages, bookmarks should be added. Create section 508 compliant accessible pdf documents with. And such its the public that can benefit from this type of accessibility. In order to be ada compliant, all your website pdfs must comply with wcag 2. Section 508 compliance accessible document solutions. To compare the two products, check out this matrix. The scope of this guide is to provide an overview to assist users, who have a basic knowledge of microsoft word, with section 508 compliance when creating microsoft word documents. The checklist below, a series of tables, is based on the content of the pdf. For accessible pdf files, the recommended format is the pdf ua format which complies with wcag 2. Authoring and evaluation features that make it easier to create accessible documents. Conformance to requirements for softwareauthoring tools requirement in the revised 508 standards.
The accessibility standards set forth by section 508 of the rehabilitation act require electronic document accessibility for everyone, including individuals with disabilities. Section 508 is only a process to help ensure that all of the information we provide, in an online forum, is accessible to as many people as possible. Guidance for creating accessible content in adobe acrobat portable document format pdf that is compliant with section 508. Why make pdfs, or any other document for that matter, ada americans with.
How to take a scanned pdf document and make it 508 compliant. Irs section 508 compliant pdf forms irs section 508 compliant pdf forms more in. Accessibility for websites how to make web sites 508 compliant doc 112 kb html file remediation docx 25 kb. How to create accessible portable document format pdf documents that conform to the revised 508 standards.
Pdf files provide some benefits when used appropriately. How to make pdf section 508 compliant agile web development. Please be aware that the primary requirment for producing a compliant document is a logical document structure. Implementing section 508 in xsl fo using renderx xep. Besides converting a word document into pdf, another method for creating a pdf is. All published documents including graphics must comply with and be accessible in accordance with current requirementsinterpretation of section 508 of the rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended.
Section 508 pdf document accessibility test process. Section 508 compliant pdf accessible document solutions. How to create accessible pdf files using adobe and nuance pdf file remediation docx 30 kb pdf accessibility from teaching commons. Office of state publishing, ada remediation unit specialize in creating ada compliant documents from standard pdfs or from native files word, indesign. The most commonly used electronic document format is adobe pdfs but section 508 compliance includes microsoft word, excel and. To check if a pdf document is accessible, you need a software like. Making documents section 508 compliant all electronic communication and documentation created by cms employees and contractors must be 508 compliant. In addition, you can use the tool tip form filed property to provide the user with information or to provide instructions. A portable document format pdf is a file format created by adobe to create standard consistency when a. Posted in conversion info tagged 508 compliance, assistive technologies, best practice, css, documents, indesign, jaws.
Pdf accessibility software foxit enterprise automation. Creating accessible pdf forms using adobe acrobat pro. A traditional print form that is intended to be filled out by hand is inherently inaccessible to people who cant see it and to people who dont have sufficient manual dexterity to fill in the form fields with pen or pencil. Bookmarks allow the reader to quickly navigate to points of interest within a pdf by linking to a specific page and view of that page. Test and debug a pdf for 508 compliance acrobat pro test and debug a pdf for 508 compliance acrobat pro dc to determine which version you have, find the program under the start menu of your computer or rightclick on the desktop icon and choose properties. How to create a 508 compliant microsoft word document. So, it is better to think and prepare for section 508 compliance. Documents certified compliant by edcs are guaranteed to be accessible and compliant with section 508. How to make pdfs 508 compliant a portable document format pdf is a file format created by adobe to create standard consistency when a document is physically printed from a standard printer. The recent section 508 refresh brought harmonization with the wcag 2.
Pdf has become a popular alternate to html for certain content, but with that comes extra care needed to ensure all users have access to the same information. Included in the vastec verified process for 508 compliance document management is the use of visually impaired at testers during the quality control process. The use of portable document formats pdfs is popular for sharing information. It is just as easy to build a 508 compliant document as it is to create a non compliant one.
There is an extensive list of requirements for section 508 compliant pdf documents. The document itself was created using renderxs software and it alone demonstrates much of the capabilities of section 508 compliance of renderxs software. We will return your fully accessible section 508 compliant pdf. This section provides references and guidance toward accomplishing that goal. In order to stay on top of the 508 compliance requirements, it is essential to test your documents regularly. What is the best way to handle bolds, italics, and underlines that have to be called out in some way for the user to refer back to later when answering questions about the text theyve just read. What is the standard for handling bolds, italics, and. Documents comprised of scanned images of text are not 508 compliant. In an accessible pdf, all form fields are tagged and are a part of the document structure. Create and verify pdf accessibility, acrobat pro adobe support. These tips can be applied to various document formats such as microsoft word, powerpoint, and excel, as well as adobe pdf documents. This handbook provides stepbystep instructions to assist blm employees in creating accessible documents compliant with section 508 of the.
The resources in this section were developed by the accessible electronic documents community of practice aed cop. It is also used to freeze or lock content that should remain intact. Each team member has the last word on the accessibility of a remediated document, such as a pdf. Note that adobe has a builtin accessibility checker in the tools section. The following are links to documents that have been used in training others to create section 508 compliant documents such as ones you may need to satisfy reporting requirements. Pdfs require 508 remediation as they are not accessible by screen readers. Along with html, pdf is the most widely used document format to provide information, and pdfs play a key and growing role in many areas. The expert service providers for 508 compliance now offer a fine balance of human involved quality control along with accessibility tools to make sure that the documents are fully accessible and technically 508 compliant. What is 508 compliance and what does 508 compliant mean are questions that businesses are asking more and more. Pdfx, pdf a, pdf vt, and pdf e files can be created in various ways, such as by using acrobat distiller or the file save as other command. This includes website content, emails, computer software, gaming systems, apps, and pdf versions of traditionally printed assets. Irs section 508 compliant pdf forms internal revenue service. We are tagging pdf documents so they are fully accessible and 508 compliant.
All publicfacing documents are required to be compliant when posted to a site, distributed across the agency, or used as a sole means of information. If no is the answer to any item, then the document is not 508 compliant. Several complaints have been filed over the past decade against universities, government administrations, and private corporations for ada and section 508. It is also used to freeze or lock content that should remain intact or in context with other information. How to make your school pdf documents accessible and ada. Pdfx, pdfa, and pdfecompliant files adobe acrobat pro. Pdf allows the publisher to ensure that a document looks the same online as it does in print form. The portable document format pdf is the standard format for online electronic publication of documents. Many times coworkers, colleagues, partners, stakeholders, and people just like that. Unfortunately,persons with disabilities, who utilize screen readers or other assistive technologies to read the content of pdfs, often cannot accessthe content because the documents are not section 508 compliant.
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