How to make Word documents accessible

Bookmarks help people skip to the content they need in a long document. They do not replace headings, but can be a helpful addition.

You don't have to add bookmarks to your document. But some accessibility checkers will flag any documents over 21 pages that don't have bookmarks.

We think it can be helpful to add bookmarks if you have a document with more than 4 pages. 

How to add bookmarks in Word

Microsoft Support show you how to add or delete bookmarks in a Word document.

We suggest you add a bookmark at each main sub-heading in your document. These will typically be the new sections you have formatted as 'Heading 2's'.

Try to make the bookmark name the same as the heading text. Use an underscore (_) to separate words.

If you convert your Word document to a PDF, you should make sure your bookmarks carry over to the PDF. Follow our advice on how to convert a Word document to a PDF.