Accessible PDFs and Documents for Council Websites

Last updated 10 October 2026 · By Alex Wood

Agendas, minutes, financial statements and forms make up most of what a council publishes online, and most of it goes up as PDFs. The accessibility regulations apply to those documents as well as to your web pages, which catches many councils out. Here is what the rules say, and how to produce accessible documents without adding hours to the clerk’s week.

Do the Accessibility Rules Apply to PDFs?

Yes. Under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, documents you publish on your website need to be accessible, just like your web pages. There are some exemptions:

• PDFs and other documents published before 23 September 2018, unless people need them to use one of your services, such as an application form
• Pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
• Maps, as long as essential information such as an address is provided in an accessible way
• Third-party content that you have not paid for or developed yourself

Anything exempt, or not yet accessible, should be listed in your accessibility statement, along with what you are doing about it.

Why Council PDFs Often Fail

• Scanned documents: a scan is a picture of text, so screen readers cannot read it at all
• No structure: headings made by making text bold or larger instead of using heading styles, so assistive technology cannot navigate the document
• No document title or language: the PDF announces itself by its file name
• Tables without header rows: financial tables that make no sense when read aloud
• Images without alternative text: maps, charts and logos with no description
• PDF forms: fields that cannot be completed with a keyboard or screen reader

Publish It as a Web Page Where You Can

The most accessible document is often not a document at all. Information residents use regularly, such as allotment rules, hall hire charges, how to contact councillors and grant guidance, works better as a web page. It is easier to read on a phone, easier for search engines to find and easier for you to update.

Creating Accessible Documents in Word

Most council documents start in Microsoft Word, and a few habits make the PDF accessible automatically:

1. Use heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2) instead of bold or larger text
2. Use real lists and tables: Word’s list buttons and Insert Table, with the first row set as a header row
3. Add alternative text to images, charts and maps
4. Write meaningful link text: “Read the Neighbourhood Plan” rather than “click here”
5. Add a document title in File > Info > Properties
6. Run the Accessibility Checker (Review > Check Accessibility) and fix what it finds
7. Save as PDF with tags: in the PDF options, make sure “Document structure tags for accessibility” is ticked

Set up templates for agendas and minutes with these styles built in, and every future document starts off accessible.

Signed Minutes and Scanned Documents

Signed minutes are usually scanned, which makes them inaccessible. A practical approach is to publish an accessible version created from the original Word document as the main copy, and add the signed scan alongside it if your council wants it online. For other scanned documents, check whether the original file still exists before resorting to a scan.

Financial Information and Spreadsheets

Spending data, budgets and asset registers are easier to use as a simple table on a web page, or as a spreadsheet with a single header row, than as a scanned or image-based PDF. Avoid merged cells and blank rows used for spacing.

Name Files So People Can Find Them

A file called “Full Council minutes 12 March 2026” helps everyone: residents scanning a list, screen reader users and search engines. A consistent naming pattern for agendas and minutes makes your archive far easier to use.

Where to Start

1. Make every new document accessible from now on, which stops the problem growing
2. Fix documents people need to use a service, such as application and booking forms
3. Fix your most-viewed documents
4. Work back through other documents published since 23 September 2018, recording progress in your accessibility statement

How We Can Help

Every Zonkey council website is built to WCAG 2.2 AA, with meeting calendars and document uploads built in so papers are easy to publish and find. Our free accessibility check tests your current website against WCAG 2.2 AA and gives you clear recommendations. Read more about accessible council websites.