PDF remediation services compared on what they hand back
A remediation service takes a PDF you already have and rebuilds what a screen reader uses: the tags, the reading order, alt text, form labels and table headers. We read five services' own pages and recorded what each says it does, what it returns with the file, and what it leaves you to ask.
The verdict by use case
Best overall for PDFs checked to WCAG and PDF/UA
Its page names every fix in our table, a human review by specialists, WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 AA, and a PDF/UA check in PAC.
Best for a large backlog on a deadline
The only page that states a turnaround, and every file comes back with a conformance report down to each tag.
Best for fillable forms sent to a federal buyer
Its own staff in the United States handle form fields, return a certificate, and fix verified tag errors free for a year.
Side by side
Scroll sideways to see all vendors.
| Requirement | Accessible.org | Allyant | Appligent | Microassist | Equidox |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tags headings, lists and paragraphs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Fixes the reading order | Yes | Yes | Check with the vendor | Yes | Not stated |
| Writes alt text for images | Yes | Yes | Check with the vendor | Yes | Not stated |
| Labels form fields | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Tags tables with header cells | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Hands back a checker report or certificate | Check with the vendor | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated |
| States a turnaround | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Names a human review step | Yes | Check with the vendor | Yes | Yes | Check with the vendor |
| Names PDF/UA as a target | Yes | Check with the vendor | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Names the WCAG version and level | Yes | Check with the vendor | Not stated | Yes | Not stated |
| Fixes errors free after delivery | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
The vendors
Accessible.org
- What it is
- An accessibility firm whose remediation page lists each fix, from tags and reading order to form labels and OCR.
- Who it fits
- An owner who wants WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA named in the order and a PDF/UA check in PAC.
- Reading order fixedYes
- Human review namedYes
- PDF/UA named as a targetYes
- Report handed backCheck with the vendor
- Turnaround statedNot stated
Allyant
- What it is
- The firm behind the CommonLook PDF software, running a remediation service for backlogs and templated files.
- Who it fits
- An organisation with a large backlog or a monthly run of the same statement or form.
- Report handed backYes
- Turnaround statedYes
- Free fixes after deliveryYes
- Human review namedCheck with the vendor
- PDF/UA named as a targetCheck with the vendor
Appligent
- What it is
- A PDF software maker whose own staff in the United States tag, check and validate client files.
- Who it fits
- A team sending fillable forms to a federal or Section 508 buyer that wants a year of free tag fixes.
- Form fields handledYes
- Certificate handed backYes
- Free fixes after deliveryYes
- Reading order fixedCheck with the vendor
- Turnaround statedNot stated
Microassist
- What it is
- An accessibility firm that remediates PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and tests each one by hand.
- Who it fits
- An office whose documents are a mix of PDFs and Office files that all need the same fix.
- Human review namedYes
- PDF/UA named as a targetYes
- WCAG version and level namedYes
- Report handed backNot stated
- Turnaround statedNot stated
Equidox
- What it is
- A PDF remediation software maker that also runs a managed service, with a minimum order.
- Who it fits
- A team that plans to remediate in house with Equidox's software and wants the first batch done for it.
- Free fixes after deliveryYes
- Human review namedCheck with the vendor
- Tags, reading order, alt text listedNot stated
- PDF/UA named as a targetNot stated
- Turnaround statedNot stated
What a remediation service changes inside the file
A PDF looks the same before and after remediation. The work happens in a layer most people never open: the tag tree. PDF/UA-1, the ISO standard for accessible PDF (ISO 14289-1), asks that all real content be tagged with the right tag, in a logical reading order, that page furniture such as running headers be marked as an artifact so a screen reader skips it, and that every meaningful image carry a Figure tag with alternative text. The Library of Congress format description of PDF/UA-1 lists those constraints in plain terms.
Each row in the table above is one of those jobs. Here is what each one answers to in WCAG 2.2, with the W3C technique that shows one way to do it. The techniques are examples: W3C says they are not required, and a file can meet a criterion another way.
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| The job | Success criterion | W3C technique |
|---|---|---|
| Tags for headings, lists and paragraphs |
| |
| Reading order and tab order |
| |
| Alt text, or decorative images marked as artifacts |
| |
| Form field labels, names and roles |
| |
| Table header cells |
| |
| Document title and language |
| |
| OCR on a scanned page |
|
The full walk-through of each fix, in Acrobat and in the source file, is in how to make a PDF accessible. Alt text is the one job a service cannot finish alone, because only you know why a chart is in the report; our alt text examples show the difference between a label and a description.
The report to ask for, and what it cannot prove
Two of five services say on their page that a document comes back with a report or a certificate. Ask the other three before you order. A widely used checker is PAC, a free desktop tool from axes4 that tests a file against PDF/UA and WCAG. Its own page says a visual check by a person is still part of the test.
A clean checker result is the floor
A checker reads the tags. It can see that an image has alt text; it cannot tell that the alt text says “image1.png”. It can see that a table has header cells; it cannot tell that they are the wrong ones. That is why the human review row matters as much as the report row.
You can run the same first look yourself before and after delivery with our PDF accessibility quick check, which reads the file in your browser and reports whether it is tagged, titled and set to a language. For a real listen, our guide to screen reader testing covers the free readers and the keys to try.
Which standard to name in the order
Two of the five services name a WCAG version and level as their target; the others leave it to you. Put it in writing, because the right target depends on who reads the file.
- Selling to a federal agency. The Section 508 Standards incorporate WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA by reference (not 2.1 or 2.2). Non-web documents are excused from four WCAG 2.0 criteria: 2.4.1, 2.4.5, 3.2.3 and 3.2.4. Our guide to a 508 compliant PDF lists what a federal reviewer checks.
- A state or local government. The DOJ Title II rule's technical standard is WCAG 2.1 Level AA (not 2.2), and it covers the web content those bodies provide, directly or through contractors. The dates and the 2026 extension are in our Title II web rule guide.
- A business with no contract naming a standard. Ask for WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to WCAG 2.0 and 2.1; W3C advises using 2.2.
Name PDF/UA-1 alongside the WCAG target. The Library of Congress notes that PDF/UA's requirements are consistent with WCAG 2.0, and PDF/UA is the standard a PDF checker can test against, so it gives the report row something firm to measure.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, ask a lawyer.
Turn the rows into a quote request
Every “Not stated” and “Check with the vendor” in the table is a question worth one line in your email. Pick the standard, keep the questions you need, and copy the list.
Questions to send with a quote request
Pre-filled with every question. Untick the ones you do not need, then copy the list into your email.
Your list
We need these PDFs remediated to WCAG 2.2 Level AA and PDF/UA-1.
- Will you rebuild the tag tree (headings, lists, paragraphs) rather than run auto-tagging alone?
- Is fixing the reading order included in the quote, or priced as an extra?
- Do your staff write the alt text, and will you send it to us to check before delivery?
- Do you label every form field and set its tab order?
- Do you tag table header cells, including tables that span pages?
- Which checker report or certificate comes back with each file (PAC, Acrobat, your own)?
- Does a person check each file with a screen reader before it is returned?
- What turnaround do you commit to for this batch, in working days?
- If a file fails a check after delivery, do you fix it free, and for how long?
9 of 9 questions in the list.
When remediation is the wrong fix
Remediation repairs a finished PDF. If the PDF is exported from a Word file or a slide deck you will edit again, every new export throws the repair away. Fix the source once with our guides to accessible Word documents and accessible PowerPoint slides, then export, and send a service only the files whose source is gone.
A monthly statement or form built from the same layout is a different job: ask for template-based remediation, which Allyant describes on its page, or tag it yourself with one of the tools in PDF remediation software compared. What moves the size of a quote, from scanned pages to complex tables, is set out in what is PDF remediation.
How we compared
Vendor pages read on
We started from the services that rank for “PDF remediation services” and kept the five whose remediation page we could read in full on the day. Two others are not here because their sites did not load for us that day; one more sells a website plugin we could not confirm is not an overlay, so we left it out.
A “Yes” means the vendor's own page says it. “Not stated” means the page is silent, which is not the same as “No”. “Check with the vendor” means the page hints at it without saying it plainly. Prices are left out on purpose: they depend on your files.
Verdicts are editorial: no vendor can buy a verdict position or displace another vendor.
No overlay widget is listed. By an overlay we mean a third-party widget or toolbar script sold as making a site conform without changing its source. In April 2025 the FTC approved a final order that bars one overlay vendor from claiming, without evidence to support it, that its automated products can make any website WCAG-compliant. Read the FTC's announcement of the order.
Nothing here is legal advice. For a specific case, ask a lawyer.
Questions
Will a remediated PDF be ADA compliant?
No federal body certifies a file as “ADA compliant”. What a service can deliver is a file that meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA or WCAG 2.2 Level AA and passes a PDF/UA check, and that is the wording to ask for in the order and on the report.
Should I ask for PDF/UA or WCAG?
Both. WCAG says what a reader must be able to do; PDF/UA says how a PDF's tags must be built to get there, and a checker can test a file against it. Name the WCAG version and level, then add PDF/UA-1.
Can software remediate a PDF without a person?
Software can tag a simple file and run the checks. Reading order on a complex layout, alt text that says what a chart means, and table headers on a merged table still need a person, which is why Allyant's page says complex content needs manual remediation. The tools are compared in PDF remediation software compared.
How much does PDF remediation cost?
It depends on page count, scanned pages, tables and forms, so this page lists no prices. The cost drivers, and how to read a per-page quote, are in what is PDF remediation.
Do Section 508 rules apply to my business PDFs?
Section 508 applies to federal agencies and does not apply directly to private websites, but a federal buyer may hold the documents you deliver to it. Our page on what Section 508 is explains who it reaches. This is general information, not legal advice; for your own situation, ask a lawyer.
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