Document Remediation for Accessibility: What State Agency Content Managers Need to Know

In 2025, U.S. state agencies are actively working to meet the compliance deadline for the updated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II ruling. For many agencies, one of the most critical and time-consuming tasks involves document accessibility. 

Unless identified as exceptions to the law, PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint files, spreadsheets, and other digital documents shared on agency websites must be formatted to be accessible to people with disabilities. That’s where document remediation comes in. 

Understand what document remediation is, what it involves, and how your agency can make sure it’s getting done the right way.

What Is Document Remediation?

Document remediation, in the context of the ADA Title II ruling update, involves converting or reconstructing digital documents that were not originally formatted to meet accessibility standards.

For example, a PDF on your website might have been created as a scanned document. A scanned PDF is essentially a photograph of a document. If you try to select text within the document using a “select text” function, it will likely highlight the entire page instead. 

To be accessible, this type of document is missing:

• Selectable text, meaning text is indiscernible on the page.
• Identified non-text elements, such as contributing images and readable alt text.
• Tagging, essential for accessibility and navigation.
• Semantic structure, without headings, lists, or tables that are recognizable by assistive technologies.
• Reading order, so that screen readers can’t tell what to read or in what order.
• Searchability, unless optical character recognition (OCR) has been applied.

These necessary elements ensure that everyone, including people using screen readers and other assistive technologies, has access.

What Does Document Remediation Involve?

Effective remediation commonly includes:

• Tagging the document structure (headings, lists, tables) to ensure logical reading order.
• Adding alternative text for meaningful images and graphics.
• Ensuring proper color contrast for text and background.
• Using readable fonts and sufficient font sizes.
• Ensuring links are descriptive, not just “click here.”
• Providing accessible form fields, if applicable.
• Verifying the document is navigable by keyboard and screen reader.

A remediation phase typically involves a review to test documents for accessibility and identify issues, adjusting the document to be compliant, or, when the source document is not available, replacing the document with an accessible version, and finally, retesting the document manually and with automated tools.

Depending on the amount of documents that need to meet accessibility compliance, agencies may be able to complete remediation independently, or budget for remediation by an outside vendor.

Documents that are currently being used to apply for, access, or participate in a state or local government’s services, programs, or activities do not fall under the exception, even if the documents were posted before the date the government has to comply with the rule.

Quote source: ADA Fact Sheet.

What You Need to Get It Done

There are a few key ingredients to a successful document remediation process:

1. Knowledgeable Staff or Vendors
   Whether in-house or through contractors, you need people who understand WCAG, accessibility best practices, and document remediation.
2. Software Tools
   A tool that state agency staff may already have available, like Adobe Acrobat Pro, is commonly used for some parts of remediation. For basic documents, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint offer built-in accessibility checkers that can catch many common issues. You may have to check with your IT department and budget for other tools that provide more thorough results.
3. A Content Inventory
   Start by identifying what documents are on your site, which ones are essential, and whether they’re already accessible. A document inventory helps prioritize what needs to be remediated or retired.
4. Policies and Workflows
   Set clear expectations for how new documents will be created and reviewed for accessibility. Establish a workflow for the remediation of existing content.
5. Document Your Work
   Track your agency’s remediation work and results. Keep your work in an internal file that multiple stakeholders can access. This supports team collaboration and progress, and supports project management. Documentation may be necessary later if your agency is audited or receives an accessibility complaint.

Does It Need to Be a PDF?

Not every document uploaded to your website or mobile application requires remediation. 

To pare down your digital document remediation to just the essentials:

• Review the ruling’s requirements and exceptions.
• Use your content inventory to:
  • Indicate the document’s purpose, and audience.
  • Mark documents as Actively Necessary, Archivable, or Removable.
  • Add the name of the team or business area responsible for the document for easier delegation and maintenance.
• Determine what can remain as-is in a clearly-marked archive, ensuring the document includes a succinct, descriptive name and meta description, and a date or year in one or the other.
• Assess the reason for keeping the information in a document format, instead of skipping remediation and converting it to a web page. Document the decision in your inventory and keep this in your remediation file.

How to Get Started

If you're just beginning your remediation journey, here are a few steps to take:

• Audit Your Content: Identify how many documents are on your site, what file types they are, and which are most frequently accessed or most critical to your services.
• Triage and Prioritize: Focus on high-traffic, high-impact documents first, such as anything needed to apply for, access, or participate in programs, services, and activities.
• Build Accessibility into Document Creation: Train your team to make accessible documents from the start. It’s far easier (and cheaper) to build accessibility in than to fix it later.
• Get Support: If your team doesn’t have remediation expertise, consider working with vendors who specialize in accessible document conversion. Many offer batch processing, ongoing remediation services, or staff training.
• Set Deadlines and Track Progress: Use project management tools or simple spreadsheets to track what’s been remediated, what’s in progress, and what still needs work.

Bottom Line

Document remediation can be an essential step in making your agency's information and services accessible to everyone. Although it might initially appear challenging, establishing a well-defined plan and following a systematic process will enable consistent, timely progress.