Document remediation is identifying and fixing issues in electronic documents that make them inaccessible. This includes adding alternative text to images, ensuring proper heading structure, tagging elements for screen readers, and testing usability.

The goal is to make the document usable by people who rely on assistive technologies like:

• Screen readers (e.g., JAWS, NVDA)

• Screen magnifiers

• Speech recognition software

• Braille displays

• PDFs – One of the most common but most problematic formats

• Microsoft Word Documents – Often lack proper heading structure or image tags

• Excel Spreadsheets – Require labeled tables, named ranges, and logical navigation

• PowerPoint Presentations – Must have reading order, alt text, and clear structure

• Scanned Documents – Must be converted using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and adequately tagged

Here's a simple remediation workflow that applies to most document formats:

1. Check the document type and version

2. Run an automated accessibility checker (e.g., Adobe Acrobat's accessibility tool, Microsoft's built-in checker)

3. Review heading structures

4. Add or correct alt text

5. Ensure tables have proper headers and no merged cells

6. Fix link text

7. Check reading order

8. Test color contrast manually or with a tool

9. Save as a tagged PDF or accessible file format

10. Conduct final testing with a screen reader

Over 26% of U.S. adults live with a disability. That's more than 61 million people who may rely on accessible documents.

Many users navigate content without ever touching a mouse. 

They rely on keyboard shortcuts or screen readers that read documents out loud. If your documents aren't tagged, labeled, and structured, they're unusable to these readers.

Fun fact: Even PDFs that look accessible may be utterly unreadable to screen readers if they're not correctly tagged. One common mistake is exporting a Word file as a PDF using a print function instead of "Save as PDF"—this strips accessibility tags completely.

You have two choices:

1. In-House Remediation – Good for ongoing content, requires training staff

2. Outsourced Remediation Services – Ideal for large-scale projects or legacy archives

Even when outsourcing, internal staff should still learn how to create accessible documents from the start to prevent future issues.

What types of documents must comply with Section 508?

Under Section 508, any federal agency's electronic documents—including PDFs, Word files, Excel sheets, and PowerPoints—must be accessible.

How can I check if my PDF is accessible?

Use Adobe Acrobat Pro's "Accessibility Checker" under Tools > Accessibility. Look for missing tags, reading order issues, and contrast errors.

Can scanned documents be made accessible?

Yes. Use OCR to convert scanned images to readable text, then tag the document correctly and structure it like a regular accessible PDF.

Do I need to make internal documents accessible?

Yes, if the documents are used internally by employees with disabilities. Section 508 applies to all federal digital content, regardless of whether it's public-facing.

Is WCAG 2.1 the same as Section 508?

Not exactly. Section 508 references WCAG 2.0 Level AA as its standard, but many organizations aim for WCAG 2.1 AA to be more inclusive and future-ready.