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Section 508 Center for PDF
Hosted and maintained by Appligent Document Solutions, the world leader in accessible PDF services, the Center's resources are intended to inform and advise graphic designers, document authors, content managers and policy makers who need to understand how Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 apply to PDF documents, and what they can do about it.
Please, get in touch to let us know how the Section 508 Center for PDF can better serve you.
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What is Section 508?Officially known as the 1998 Amendment to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, Section 508 requires Federal agencies developing, procuring or using IT goods and services ensure that those with disabilities have access to the information comparable to that of individuals without disabilities, unless such provision would cause an undue burden. Visit section508.gov to learn more. What do you NEED to know?Documents vary from simple to very complex. Even seemingly small errors can have huge accessibility consequences. Most PDF files cannot be checked for compliance with Section 508 without human assistance. Best practice in authoring is key to cost-effective production of accessible PDFs. Get a quick 10 facts about Section 508 and PDF. Watch out for the myths. Technical: How Section 508 applies in PDFThe regulations apply to all Information Technology, including electronic documents and forms. Whether HTML, Word document, presentation, spreadsheet or PDF file, Section 508 requires the document be readable by all. Learn more about what Section 508 means in PDF technical terms. How is Section 508 checked in PDF files?A variety of tools are available to facilitate the review and correction of PDF tags and attributes. An eye for detail, however, is not optional, and most PDFs require human validation. We maintain a list of the currently-available tools for checking and/or correcting tags in PDF files. What documentation and training is available?There are a variety of sources for information on the technical and practical considerations of ensuring PDF documents are accessible. We've listed at least some of these resources for your reference. |
How to create tagged PDFBesides Adobe Systems, original creator of the PDF format, a variety of software organizations support the creation of tagged PDF in order to generate Section 508 compliant PDF files. We maintain a list of those organizations and their products, along with our own notes. What software checks or edits tags in PDFs?At this time, relatively few companies have marketed software capable of analyzing or editing the tags in PDF files, but some have. We applaud those organizations for their leadership in the industry, and encourage them to continue development of their software. What about "Reading Order"?Most of today's PDF viewing software cannot use PDF tags, and thus, cannot comply with Section 508. Without support for tags, software relies on the so-called "reading order" - the literal order in which page-content is written to file by the PDF creation software. PDF "reading order" just isn't relevant to Section 508 compliance or accessibility, as this article makes clear. Section 508 & WCAGIn the current (2001) regulations, Sections 1194.21 and 1194.22 set technical requirements for forms and documents based on WCAG 1.0, which was specific to HTML. In the planned update to Section 508, new technical standards will be based on WCAG 2.0, with far richer and more extensive requirements. Are similar regulations being adopted elsewhere?Oklahoma, California, Massachusetts and other states already have their own versions of Section 508. Canada's Common Look and Feel standards, and new laws in the UK and Germany and elsewhere are either taking effect or under development. |
