filekin
Check if a PDF is accessible
Find out whether a PDF works for people who use screen readers, and exactly what to fix to meet PDF/UA, the standard behind the European Accessibility Act and Section 508. A missing language or title is fixed in one click. It all happens in your browser, so your PDF is never uploaded.
Fix it here
This PDF is locked against changes. Unlock it with Unlock PDF first, then check the unlocked copy to fix it here.
Filekin can set the language and title, show the title instead of the file name, and fix the tab order, right in your browser. The rest of the file stays exactly as it is.
Fixed and downloaded. The report above shows the file after the fixes. Download it again
The fastest way to fix the rest
Tags, alt text, table headers and headings have to come from the document the PDF was made from. Fix them there, then export again with tagging on. If it's a Word file, Word to PDF turns it into a tagged PDF that keeps your alt text, headings and table headers.
Checked against the machine-checkable requirements of PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1), the standard for accessible PDFs.
How to check if a PDF is accessible
- Drop your PDF into the box above. It's read right in your browser and never uploaded.
- Read the report: whether the PDF passes, and every problem explained in plain English with what to do about it.
- Fix a missing language or title in one click, and download the fixed PDF. Filekin checks it again straight away.
- For the rest (tags, alt text, table headers, headings), fix the document the PDF was made from and export it again. A Word file can go through Word to PDF, which makes a tagged PDF.
Common questions
What makes a PDF accessible?
A screen reader needs to know what's on the page and in what order: which text is a heading, a paragraph, a list or a table, and what each picture shows. That information is the PDF's tags. An accessible PDF also states its language and title, embeds its fonts, has header cells in its tables and doesn't block assistive software. The standard that sets this out is PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1).
Do I have to make my PDFs accessible?
Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act requires many businesses that sell to consumers in the EU (online shops, banks, transport and e-book publishers among them) to make the documents they give customers accessible, PDFs included. Germany's version is the BFSG. Public bodies in the EU and in the US (Section 508) have had similar rules for longer. Very small businesses providing services are largely exempt. This isn't legal advice: check what applies to you.
What can this checker find, and what can't it?
It checks what software can measure: tags, language, title, alt text on images and formulas, table headers, heading order, tab order, link and form-field descriptions, fonts, scanned pages and security settings. It can't judge whether the alt text really describes an image, whether the reading order makes sense, or whether colors contrast enough. The report says so, so have someone check those, ideally with a screen reader.
Can Filekin fix my PDF?
It fixes what can be fixed safely without the original document: the language, the title, showing the title instead of the file name, and the tab order. Tags, alt text and table headers have to come from the program that made the PDF. Fix them there and export again; for Word files, Filekin's Word to PDF makes a tagged PDF that keeps your alt text and headings.
Why does my PDF have no tags?
Tags are created when the PDF is made, and many programs and "print to PDF" drivers leave them out. In Word, choose File, Save as, PDF, then Options and tick "Document structure tags for accessibility". Scanned documents have no tags either, because they contain pictures of text.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The checker and the fixes run entirely in your browser, so the PDF never leaves your device.
How is this different from PAC or Adobe Acrobat?
PAC (a free Windows program) and Acrobat Pro run many more checks and are what accessibility professionals use for a full audit. Filekin is the quick check anyone can run in a browser, on any device, in seconds, with the most common problems explained in plain language and the easy ones fixed on the spot.