The problem with PDFs
Why PDFs are essentially outlawed in the public sector and what to do about it.
Since 2018, PDFs and other non-HTML content have been essentially outlawed online by public sector accessibility guidance.
There are lots of reasons for this, but the main issue is that PDFs can lock some users out of some or all of your content, especially people who use assistive technologies, like screen readers, to browse the web.
User rights are enshrined in law and protected by the Equality Act. Government Digital Service (GDS) auditors actively check public sector websites for non-compliant PDFs. You may be asked to make improvements if they find non-compliant content.
Public sector bodies shouldn't publish content in PDFs unless there's a specific user need for it.
The problem with PDFs
We avoid PDFs because:
they cannot meet the range of users' accessibility needs, for example, users cannot change colours or font size
they usually give people a poor user experience, especially on mobile
many browsers, tools and extensions do not work with them – they often have problems with zoom, scroll, audio, image and keyboard navigation
they make it difficult for users to navigate to the rest of the website
they may take users away from the website, opening in a new tab, window or software – and not all users have the right software
they are hard to maintain and update, so users may get out of date and unreliable content
if users find PDFs in search results, they get them without any supporting context or material, such as who the publisher is
search engines may not rank PDFs as highly in search results as HTML pages
it's difficult to collect data on how people use PDFs, and that makes it difficult to identify problems and improve them
Creating new PDFs
Creating a new PDF document is a last resort and you should avoid it unless there is a specific user need for it. You should always provide an HTML version too.
Rare cases where you might need a PDF
We may publish a PDF as well as an HTML page:
for niche audiences, where there is a clear user need for special formats (like Easy Read or foreign language leaflets designed to be printed out)
for other downloads designed for printing, such as posters
downloads of reports or publications designed to be published on paper
where there's a legal or regulatory requirement to have a formal, signed document
to preserve a permanent record for the future
Make PDFs accessible
If you have to create a new PDF, it must meet WCAG 2.2 to level AA.
If you create your PDF correctly and save it in PDF/A (archiving) format, it can meet WCAG 2.2 AA. (Follow the GOV.UK guidance on publishing accessible documents.)
PDFs must have
a logical structure based on tags and headings
meaningful document properties, for example, a descriptive title for assistive technology
readable body text
good colour contrast
text alternative for images
However, there is still no guarantee that your PDF content will meet the accessibility needs of your users. Structured HTML pages are more accessible.
Older PDFs and non-HTML documents
Before 23 September 2018
It's OK to keep non-HTML documents, including PDFs, created before 23 September 2018 as long as you're no longer using them for business processes, such as forms.
After 23 September 2018
If you created or still use any non-HTML documents for business processes after 23 September 2018, you should do 1 of the following:
keep the content up to date and replace them with an HTML page or give users an HTML alternative
delete them
Linking to PDFs
It's better to link to HTML pages containing PDF content rather than to PDFs themselves. This makes it easier for users to find the latest information if the PDF is replaced.
Linking to an HTML page also makes it easier to measure user journeys and analyse website use.
Read more about how to handle links, including linking to PDFs.
Editing PDFs to comply with accessibility regulations can be complicated and time consuming. New and legacy PDFs, especially in large public sector bodies, may be the biggest hurdle you face when working towards better compliance.
Sometimes it's easier - and more cost effective - to create a new version of your document in HTML. In almost all cases this approach will be better for your audience.
