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PDF Accessibility Remediation

Tagged, PDF/UA-conformant documents priced per page by complexity, starting at $3 for standard pages.

From
$3per page
Initial delivery
3-5 business days
Send documents to quote

Why PDFs Fail

A PDF that looks finished on screen is usually the least accessible thing an organisation publishes. The visual layout carries the meaning, and none of it is written into the file, so assistive technology gets a wall of undifferentiated text. The most common failures are:

  • No tag tree at all, so there are no headings to navigate by and the document is one continuous block
  • Reading order that follows the layout rather than the meaning, so a two-column page is read straight across and the sentences interleave
  • Tables without header associations, so a figure is announced with no indication of which row and column it belongs to
  • Scanned pages that are images of text, invisible to a screen reader and unsearchable
  • Form fields with no labels, so the person filling it in cannot tell what any box is asking for

Why It Is Worth Fixing

  • Documents Are In Scope

    The European Accessibility Act and Section 508 both cover published documents, not just web pages. A compliant site with inaccessible PDFs is still exposed.

  • Auditors Look Here First

    Annual reports, policies, and application forms are the documents complaints and procurement reviews tend to cite, because they are the ones people actually need.

  • Searchable and Reusable

    Tagging and OCR make a document searchable, indexable, and easier to convert to other formats, which benefits every reader.

  • Fixed Price Before You Commit

    Pages are banded from the real files, so you approve a total up front rather than an hourly estimate that moves.

Our Remediation Process

Every document is tagged by hand and verified before it goes back to you. Automated tagging alone reliably produces a file that passes a checker and still fails a reader.

Document Triage

I open every file and band each page as standard, structured, or complex, then confirm a fixed total before any work begins.

Structure and Tagging

I build the tag tree by hand: headings, lists, links, and a reading order that matches how the document is meant to be read.

Tables, Forms, and Figures

Table headers get scope and span associations, form fields get labels and tab order, and charts get described alternatives.

Text Recovery

Scanned and image-only pages are put through OCR and the recovered text layer is proofread, so the content is real text rather than a picture of text.

Conformance Check

Every file is verified against PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2 AA, and spot-checked with a screen reader before it is handed back.

Per-page pricing

What PDF remediation costs

Tagged, PDF/UA-conformant documents priced per page by complexity. Send the files and we band each page before quoting, so the total is fixed before work begins.

Standard page

Text-led pages with a single linear reading order.

$3per page

USD, billed per remediated page

Best for
Reports, policies, letters, and text-led brochures
Typical turnaround
3-5 business days

Pages in this band

  • Single-column, text-led layout
  • Headings, lists, and links
  • Decorative images that can be artifacted
  • No tables, forms, or scanned content

You receive

  • Full tag tree with correct semantic structure
  • Logical reading order and tab order
  • Heading hierarchy mapped to document outline
  • Alt text on meaningful images
  • Document language, title, and metadata set
Send documents to quote

Most common

Structured page

Pages whose meaning depends on layout that must be rebuilt in the tag tree.

$7per page

USD, billed per remediated page

Best for
Financial statements, data reports, and multi-column publications
Typical turnaround
5-8 business days

Pages in this band

  • Data tables needing header scope and spans
  • Multi-column or sidebar layouts
  • Footnotes, endnotes, and cross-references
  • Nested or multi-level lists

You receive

  • Everything in Standard page
  • Table header associations, scope, and merged-cell handling
  • Corrected reading order across columns and callouts
  • Footnote and reference links wired to their targets
Send documents to quote

Complex page

Pages needing interactive semantics, described visuals, or recovered text.

$12per page

USD, billed per remediated page

Best for
Application forms, prospectuses, scanned archives, and infographics
Typical turnaround
8-12 business days

Pages in this band

  • Interactive form fields needing labels and tooltips
  • Charts, maps, and infographics needing described alternatives
  • Scanned or image-only pages needing OCR
  • Mathematical or scientific notation

You receive

  • Everything in Structured page
  • Labelled, keyboard-operable form fields in correct tab order
  • Long descriptions for charts and infographics
  • OCR with proofread text layer for scanned pages
Send documents to quote

How pages are counted: Pages are banded individually within a document. A 40-page report with 6 table-heavy pages is billed as 34 standard pages plus 6 structured pages, not at the higher rate throughout. A minimum order of $150 applies per project.

Common add-ons

Published unit prices for the extras document sets most often need.

Optional additions and prices for PDF accessibility remediation
Add-onPriceWhat it adds
Accessibility rush+35%Roughly halves the agreed turnaround window.
Source file rebuild$18/pageRebuilds tags in the InDesign or Word source so future exports stay accessible.
PDF/UA conformance report$120Per document set, with checkpoint-by-checkpoint evidence.
Remediation training$600Half-day session on tagging your own documents in Acrobat.

Commercial terms

Clear terms keep the work predictable for both teams.

  • Quoting: send the documents and each page is banded before a fixed total is confirmed. You approve the total before any work starts.
  • Currency: all published prices are in USD and exclude applicable taxes.
  • Minimum order: $150 per project, so very small document sets are still worth doing properly.
  • Pricing assumes the supplied PDF is the final approved version; content changes after tagging are re-banded.
  • Files are banded from the actual documents before a fixed total is confirmed, never estimated from page count alone.
  • Every delivered file is checked against PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1) and the applicable WCAG 2.2 AA criteria before handover.
  • Documents containing personal or regulated data are handled under a signed agreement before transfer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about our services.

How much does PDF remediation cost per page?

Standard text-led pages are $3 per page, structured pages with tables or multi-column layouts are $7 per page, and complex pages with forms, charts, or scanned content are $12 per page. Pages are banded individually inside a document, so you are not charged the highest rate for the whole file. A minimum order of $150 applies per project.

How do you decide which band a page falls into?

By what has to be built in the tag tree, not by how the page looks. A page with running text, headings, and links is standard. Once meaning depends on a data table, multiple columns, or footnote relationships, it is structured. When a page needs labelled form fields, a described chart, or OCR to recover text from an image, it is complex. I band every page from the real document and show you the split before you commit.

What standard do you remediate to?

PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1) together with the applicable WCAG 2.2 Level AA criteria. That combination is what the European Accessibility Act, Section 508, and most procurement rules expect for documents. If you need a specific profile such as PDF/UA-2 or a Section 508 attestation, say so at quoting and I will confirm it in scope.

Can you fix the source file so future exports are accessible?

Yes, and for documents you republish regularly it is usually the cheaper path. The Source file rebuild add-on is $18 per page and repairs the styles, alt text, and table structure in the InDesign or Word original, so every future export starts accessible instead of needing remediation again. For a quarterly report, that pays for itself within a year.

Do you handle confidential or regulated documents?

Yes. Financial statements, patient materials, and HR documents are routine. Files containing personal or regulated data are handled under a signed agreement covering transfer, storage, and deletion before anything is sent. Documents are processed on encrypted storage and removed on request once the work is accepted.

How long does remediation take?

Standard pages are typically returned in 3-5 business days, structured pages in 5-8 business days, and complex pages in 8-12 business days, measured from the point the final files are confirmed. Large sets are delivered in batches so you can publish the first documents while the rest are still in progress. The Accessibility rush add-on roughly halves the window.

Send Us Your Documents

Share the files you need remediated and I will band the pages and return a fixed total. If you would rather check the current state first, the free PDF checker gives you a baseline in a few seconds.

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