How to make Word documents accessible

Create an accessible PDF from Word

You can make an accessible PDF from your Word document if you tag it and export it correctly.

What a tagged PDF is

PDFs exported from Word must be saved as a tagged PDF to be accessible.

Tags provide structure by labelling elements such as paragraphs, images, headings, bookmarks, lists and tables. This structure allows assistive technologies and other digital tools to read and understand the document correctly.

If a Word document is tagged incorrectly, or not tagged at all, the resulting PDF will be inaccessible to people who rely on these technologies.

Word documents with simple layouts

Most Word documents with simple layouts will convert to accessible tagged PDFs if they use:

built-in lists, heading styles or bookmarks
descriptive link text
images with appropriate alt text

Using Word’s built-in features helps preserve the document’s structure when it is converted to a PDF.

Word documents with complex layouts

Documents with complex layouts, such as multiple columns, tables or form fields, may not convert correctly to a tagged PDF.

Making these accessible may require specialised paid software, such as Acrobat Pro.

If your PDF contains a complex layout and cannot be made fully accessible, you must also provide the content in an alternative accessible format, such as:

an accessible web page (preferred format)
an accessible Word document

Convert a Word document to a tagged PDF (Office 365)

Follow these steps to check your Word document and export it as a tagged PDF.

Step 1: Run Word’s Accessibility Checker

Go to the Review tab.
Select Check Accessibility.
Correct any issues identified, such as:
- marking decorative images as Decorative
- adding alt text to informative images

Running the accessibility checker first ensures your document is ready for export.

Step 2: Prepare the PDF export

Set up your document and start the PDF export process.

Open the File menu and go to Info.
Under Properties, add a document title in the Title field. This title appears in the browser tab when viewing the PDF.
Go to Export, then select Print.
Select Create PDF/XPS.
If prompted to Investigate Accessibility, correct any issues before continuing.

Step 3: Confirm accessibility tagging options and save

Make sure accessibility information is included in the PDF.

Select Options.
Under Include non-printing information, select:
- Create bookmarks using: Headings or Word bookmarks (only available if bookmarks are added)
- Document properties (only available if a document title is added)
- Document structure tags for accessibility
Select OK, then save the file as normal.

If your document includes both headings and Word bookmarks, choose Headings. Headings provide clearer structure and better navigation.