Why a PDF can look fine and still fail
People who are blind or have low vision use a screen reader: software that reads the page out loud. It relies on hidden labels inside the PDF, called tags, to know what is a title, a list, a table or a form field. Without tags there is no map: no jumping to the agenda item you need, no way to tell which column a number belongs to.
Before: a real 9-page set of council minutes
- No tags at all
- No title: the file name shows instead
- No language set
- No headings to jump to, no lists, no bookmarks
After: the same words, now readable
- Fully tagged, with a real title and language
- 35 headings you can jump between
- 14 real lists and bookmarks
- 100% of the original words, read in order
The federal deadlines are on the calendar
April 26, 2027
State and local governments serving 50,000 people or more.
April 26, 2028
Smaller governments and special districts, such as water, fire and park districts.
May 2027 or May 2028
Health and human services providers that receive HHS funds: May 11, 2027 with 15 or more employees, May 10, 2028 with fewer.
You probably don't have to fix everything. PDFs posted before the date are generally excepted, unless people still use them to apply for or access a service, or they are changed later. So most offices start with the forms people use today, plus what they post every month, like agendas and minutes.
General information, not legal advice. Sources: ADA.gov fact sheet, Federal Register, DOJ extension, Federal Register, HHS extension.
How the free test works
You send one PDF
A public document or a blank form, up to 20 pages. An attachment or a link is fine.
I fix it and test it
Every word is compared with your original. Then it goes through the PAC checker and the NVDA screen reader.
You get the file and the proof
The fixed PDF, a short report of what passed and what wasn't tested, and a log of what the screen reader said. It's yours to keep.
Proof, not promises
A demonstration with 8 public documents from the City of New Philadelphia, Ohio: council minutes, a health privacy notice, two brochures (one of them scanned), a 250-row table and a fillable form. The city is not a client.
47
pages fixed
0
errors in PAC 2026, for PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2
100%
of the words read in order by NVDA*
25 of 25
form fields reached with the Tab key
*On the scanned brochure, 100% of the text transcribed from the scan.
The checker said 0 errors. The screen reader found a problem.
In my first batch, PAC reported no errors. But in NVDA, words at line breaks came out stuck together: “ON SEPTEMBER” was read as “ONSEPTEMBER”. I fixed the cause and tested every file again. That's why every file gets a real screen reader test, not just a checker.
Download the sample files (ZIP, 4.7 MB): for 4 of the documents, the original, the fixed version, the PAC reports, the test report and the screen reader log.
A simple price per page
No sales call and no surprise. The first file is free, so you can judge the work before you pay anything.
| Type of page | Price |
|---|---|
| TextMinutes, agendas, notices, letters | $4 |
| Tables and formsTables with headers, fillable forms | $8 |
| ScannedImage-only pages, transcribed and checked by a person | $10 |
- Founder pilot: up to 50 text pages for $150.
- Turnaround: 5 business days for up to 100 pages. A 48-hour rush adds 25%.
- Free fixes for 30 days: if you find a PAC error or a problem you can reproduce in NVDA, I fix it free.
- Monthly documents: ask me to quote your agendas and minutes as a monthly batch.
Who I work with
City, county or public agency
You don't need a tech team. You send the file and get back the fixed file, plus a short report to share with your ADA coordinator. A good first batch: the forms people fill out today, then your monthly agendas and minutes.
Accessibility or web firm
Busy before the deadlines? I take your overflow under your brand. You keep your clients, and I never contact them. Send me the hard files too: scans, long tables, forms. I work in writing and will sign your NDA. White-label and volume rates on request.
Questions people ask
Will my document look different?
Fillable forms and files that already have tags keep their look: I fix them in place. Other documents are rebuilt with the same words in a clean, standard layout, so the original colors, columns, and bold or italic text are not kept. You'll see the result on your free test before you decide anything.
Will this make us “ADA compliant”?
Nobody can honestly promise that from a file. Legal compliance depends on more than one PDF and is a question for your attorney. What I give you is evidence: what was tested, what passed and what wasn't tested.
Do you use AI?
Yes, and I'm open about it. An AI model (Anthropic Claude) proposes the structure and drafts image descriptions. A script compares every word with your original, and I review the result and sign the report. Nothing is added to your file as an overlay or widget: the fix is in the file itself.
Can I send documents with private information?
Please don't. I only take public documents and blank forms, with no protected health information, and I can't sign a BAA. Files are deleted within 30 days after you accept the delivery, or sooner if you ask.
Which standards do you work to?
WCAG 2.1 Level AA and PDF/UA-1. I test with PAC 2026 and PAC 2024 from axes4, and with NVDA and Adobe Acrobat Reader. Other screen readers, such as JAWS and VoiceOver, are not part of the standard test.
Where are you based?
In Brazil. I work by email, in writing, during US business hours. If your contract requires US-based staff or doesn't allow subcontracting, tell me and I'll step back.