PDF Accessibility (PDF/UA) Quick Check
Upload a PDF and find out whether it has the structure a screen reader needs - tags, a structure tree, a document language, a real title, the PDF/UA identifier, and alt text on its images. Every result is explained in plain language, with the reason it matters. No Windows download, no account, and your file never leaves your browser.
Why PDFs suddenly need to be accessible
Germany's Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) has applied since 28 June 2025, putting the EU Accessibility Act into German law. The technical yardstick behind it is EN 301 549, which brings electronic documents - PDFs very much included - into scope and points at PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1) as the standard for accessible PDFs. France's RGAA applies comparable expectations to public-sector documents.
The practical problem is that the reference checker, PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker), is a Windows-only desktop download. If you're on a Mac, on Linux, on a locked-down work machine, or you just want to sanity-check one file before sending it, that's a lot of friction. This tool runs the machine-checkable document-level checks straight in the browser instead.
What gets checked
Each check maps to a real, citable requirement - the Matterhorn Protocol failure conditions that PAC itself implements, plus the structural requirements in clause 7.1 of ISO 14289-1:
- Tagged document and structure tree - ISO 14289-1 clause 7.1 (
/MarkInfo /Markedand/StructTreeRoot) - Document language - Matterhorn checkpoint 11-001
- Document title - Matterhorn checkpoint 06-003 (dc:title in XMP)
- Title shown instead of the filename - Matterhorn checkpoint 07-001 (
/DisplayDocTitle) - PDF/UA identifier - Matterhorn checkpoint 06-002 (
pdfuaid:partin XMP) - Alt text on images - Matterhorn checkpoints 13-004 and 01-005
Frequently asked questions
How can I check a PDF for accessibility online, for free?
Upload the PDF above - the check starts immediately and runs entirely in your browser. It checks whether the document is tagged, whether a structure tree exists, whether a document language and title are set, whether the title is shown instead of the filename, whether the PDF/UA identifier is present in the XMP metadata, and whether every image has alt text. Each result is explained in plain language, including the impact on screen reader users. Free, no sign-up, and no Windows download required - unlike the widely used desktop tool PAC.
How do I check a PDF's accessibility for RGAA?
Drop your PDF into the tool above. It checks the structural criteria that RGAA and the EN 301 549 standard expect from a PDF document: the presence of tags (tagged PDF), the structure tree, the document language, the document title and whether that title is displayed instead of the filename, the PDF/UA identifier in the XMP metadata, and alt text on images. Note: this is an automated check of the criteria that can be verified by machine. Reading order, the real relevance of alt text, and table structure still require human review.
Is this a full PDF/UA checker, like PAC?
No, and it doesn't pretend to be. The Matterhorn Protocol - the testing framework PAC implements - defines 136 failure conditions across 31 checkpoints, of which roughly 89 are machine-checkable and about 45 require human judgement. This tool runs the document-level subset plus image alt text: the checks that catch the most common and most damaging problems, and the ones people most often need to verify quickly. For a full conformance audit before publishing at scale, use PAC or another complete PDF/UA validator, and budget for a human review either way.
Does passing every check mean my PDF is accessible?
No. It means nothing obvious is broken at the document level. A PDF can pass every automatic check and still be unusable: the reading order can zig-zag across columns, alt text can say "image1.png" instead of describing the picture, headings can be styled to look like headings without being tagged as any, and table headers can be missing their cell associations. None of those are machine-detectable. Treat a clean result as a green light to do the human review, not as a substitute for it.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The entire analysis - reading the document catalogue, the XMP metadata, the structure tree and every page's drawing operations - runs locally in your browser. Documents being checked for accessibility are often unpublished reports, contracts or internal files, so nothing is transmitted, logged or stored. You can confirm it by going offline after the page loads: the check still runs.