PDF/UA Compliance
PDF/UA (Universal Accessibility) is the ISO standard that defines precisely how PDFs must be structured for assistive technology. It's the highest bar for PDF accessibility—and PDFally meets it.
What Is PDF/UA?
PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1) is the international standard for universally accessible PDF documents. Published by the International Organization for Standardization, it specifies technical requirements that go beyond WCAG to ensure PDFs work reliably with every modern screen reader and assistive technology.
While WCAG defines what accessibility outcomes are required, PDF/UA defines precisely how a PDF must be technically structured to achieve them—providing machine-verifiable conformance.
Organizations that need the highest level of assurance—particularly those in government, legal, and publishing—specify PDF/UA as a procurement and compliance requirement.
PDF/UA vs. WCAG
PDF/UA and WCAG are complementary. WCAG is the legal benchmark; PDF/UA is the technical implementation standard for PDFs specifically.
- PDF/UA is machine-testable via tools like PAC 3
- WCAG conformance is required by most laws
- PDF/UA conformance implies WCAG conformance
- PDF/UA is cited in EU Accessibility Act and EN 301 549
Global Recognition
PDF/UA is referenced in the EU Web Accessibility Directive, EN 301 549 (European standard for ICT accessibility), and is increasingly cited in procurement specifications worldwide.
PDF/UA Technical Requirements We Address
Every requirement in ISO 14289-1, applied by expert remediators.
Tagged PDF
Full tag tree present and accurate—every content element identified semantically
Logical Structure
Document structure uses correct tag types (H1–H6, P, L, Table, Figure, etc.)
Real Content vs. Artifacts
Page numbers, headers, backgrounds properly marked as artifacts and excluded from the tag tree
Character Encoding
Proper Unicode mapping for all characters, including special characters and ligatures
Natural Language
Document and passage language declared so screen readers use the correct voice
Security Settings
Document security allows assistive technology access—no permissions blocking screen readers
Heading Hierarchy
Correct and nested heading structure—no skipped heading levels
XMP Metadata
PDF/UA identifier included in document XMP metadata for automated conformance checking
Who Specifies PDF/UA?
Publishing & Legal
Law firms, publishers, and courts that need documents to remain accessible across decades of archiving.
European Organizations
EU Accessibility Act and EN 301 549 reference PDF/UA, making it mandatory for many European public sector organizations.
Enterprise Procurement
Large enterprises and government bodies increasingly include PDF/UA conformance in vendor accessibility requirements.
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