English
翻訳会社
tradução em papel
empresa de traducción
traduzione cartacea
Papierübersetzung
traduction papier
papieren vertaling
ترجمه مقاله
แปลกระดาษ
бумажный перевод
ترجمة ورقية
makale çeviri
Tradutor de Artigos
學術翻譯
학술출판번역
论文翻译
PDF Remediation
Services
Make your existing PDFs fully accessible to screen readers and assistive technologies, compliant with Section 508, WCAG 2.1/2.2, ADA, PDF/UA, and the European Accessibility Act.
61 million
US adults live with a disability
71%
Of users with disabilities abandon content they cannot access
#1
PDFs are the most frequently cited inaccessible file type in federal accessibility audits
Why PDF Accessibility Is a Legal and Business Requirement
PDFs are the most widely used format for sharing critical information, and also among the most inaccessible file types on the internet.
An inaccessible PDF is a legal liability. Section 508, the ADA, and the European Accessibility Act all require accessible electronic content. A PDF that cannot be navigated by a screen reader fails all three.
Beyond compliance, inaccessible PDFs exclude people with visual, motor, or cognitive disabilities from content they have a right to access, and block procurement with organizations that require accessible documents.
Legal Exposure
ADA lawsuits targeting inaccessible digital content, including PDFs, have grown consistently year over year. Non-compliance creates recurring litigation risk.
Audience Exclusion
1 in 4 US adults has a disability. Inaccessible PDFs lock out a significant portion of your audience from content they have a right to access.
Procurement Barriers
Federal agencies and many enterprise buyers require WCAG and Section 508 compliant documents before awarding contracts or making purchases.
What is PDF Remediation?
PDF remediation is the process of adding the structural and semantic information that makes a PDF readable and navigable by screen readers, refreshable braille displays, and other assistive technologies.
An untagged or incorrectly tagged PDF is effectively invisible to a screen reader: no headings to navigate, no descriptions for images, no logical reading sequence. Remediation corrects this by building the document's complete accessibility layer from the ground up.
Document Tags
A complete tag tree defining every element (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, figures, and form fields) so assistive technologies understand document structure.
Logical Reading Order
The correct sequence for screen readers to read content, critical for multi-column layouts, sidebars, and design-heavy documents where visual and logical order differ.
Alternative Text
Descriptive alt text for every non-decorative image, chart, and figure. Decorative elements are marked as artifacts so screen readers skip them correctly.
Accessible Tables
Header rows and columns properly identified, scope attributes set, and complex relationships defined so table data is navigable and meaningful to screen reader users.
Accessible Form Fields
Every field labeled, tooltipped, and tab-ordered. Required fields, error messages, and instructions are programmatically accessible.
Document Language
The primary document language declared in file properties, with language changes marked for multilingual content, essential for accurate screen reader pronunciation.
Navigation Bookmarks
Bookmarks generated for longer documents, enabling users to jump between sections without reading linearly through the entire file.
Color Contrast & Font Encoding
Text and background combinations verified against WCAG contrast ratios. Fonts properly embedded and encoded for accurate text extraction across all PDF readers.
Ready to Make Your PDFs Accessible?
Tell us about your project and we'll help you understand what remediation involves, which standards apply to your organization, and what a realistic scope looks like.
Document Types We Remediate
Standard Business Documents
Reports, policy documents, white papers, employee handbooks, proposals
Scanned PDFs
Image-only files requiring OCR before full tagging and remediation
Fillable Forms
Government forms, applications, surveys, enrollment forms, contracts
Financial Documents
Annual reports, statements, disclosures, prospectuses, regulatory filings
Legal Documents
Contracts, court filings, compliance documentation, regulatory submissions
Healthcare Documents
Patient forms, clinical summaries, discharge instructions, insurance documents
Technical & Scientific Documents
Engineering specs, research papers, manuals, scientific reports with complex figures
Long-Form Publications
eBooks, training manuals, multi-chapter reports, course materials
Design-Heavy PDFs
Brochures, catalogues, presentation exports, design-led annual reports
Compliance Standards
Every project is built to meet the specific standard that applies to your organization, wherever you operate.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
Section 508 requires all US federal agencies and their contractors to make electronic content, including every PDF they publish, distribute, or procure, accessible to people with disabilities. The technical requirements align with WCAG 2.1. Any organization that works with federal agencies or receives federal funding must meet this standard.
Why Automated Tools Aren't Enough
Automated PDF checkers can flag certain issues, but they cannot remediate accurately. The parts of a PDF that matter most to accessibility all require human judgment.
Every Ulatus PDF is screen reader tested
We verify each remediated file manually using NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and TalkBack before delivery, since no automated tool replicates real assistive technology behavior.
Alt text needs human judgment
Machines generate placeholder text or skip images entirely. Accurate descriptions for charts, diagrams, and figures require someone who understands the content.
Reading order isn't always obvious
Multi-column layouts and sidebars need authorial judgment. Automated tools process content in file order, which often doesn't match how the document is meant to be read.
Complex tables break under automation
Merged cells and nested headers require manual tagging. Automated tools frequently get this wrong, making the data inaccessible to screen reader users.
Form labels depend on context
Automated tools associate labels by proximity, which fails for non-standard layouts. Every field needs a label that clearly conveys what's expected.
Who We Work With
Federal Government & Contractors
Every PDF published or distributed by a federal agency must be Section 508 compliant. Contractors providing content or services to federal agencies face the same requirement. Ulatus handles both 508-compliant remediation and 508-compliant translation in a single workflow.
Higher Education
Universities must provide accessible PDFs for course materials, research publications, administrative forms, and student communications. Institutions serving international students benefit from Ulatus's ability to deliver accessible course materials in students' native languages.
Healthcare
Patient forms, clinical summaries, discharge instructions, and public health materials are among the most critical documents to make accessible. For organizations serving multilingual patient populations, Ulatus delivers documents that are both compliant and accurately translated.
Financial Services
Annual reports, account statements, fund prospectuses, and regulatory filings require accessible formatting. Financial documents frequently feature complex table structures and multi-column layouts that require specialist remediation.
Legal
Court filings, contracts, compliance documentation, and regulatory submissions increasingly require accessible formats. Federal courts and many state courts now specify accessibility requirements for electronically filed documents.
Publishing & eLearning
Course materials, textbooks, training guides, and supplementary eLearning documents must be accessible to all learners. Publishers and content developers rely on specialist remediation to meet accessibility requirements at scale.
Languages
Words Translated
Expert Linguists
Years of Excellence
Client Satisfaction
Clients Worldwide
Client Testimonials
All of our collaborations with Ulatus to date have been amazing experiences. They deliver top-notch quality within the required deadline and their team is supportive throughout the projects.
Discovery Education
Your team demonstrated responsiveness, accountability, and effective communication, which greatly contributed to a successful partnership.
EnCompass LLC
The technical nature of our work, combined with the critical need for precise content, required the help of an exceptional company. With Ulatus, we found the perfect partner to achieve our goals.
IBM
All of our collaborations with Ulatus to date have been amazing experiences. They deliver top-notch quality within the required deadline and their team is supportive throughout the projects.
Discovery Education
Your team demonstrated responsiveness, accountability, and effective communication, which greatly contributed to a successful partnership.
EnCompass LLC
Trusted by industry leaders
Our ISO Certifications
As a professional translation service provider, our certifications demonstrate our commitment to clients and business partners worldwide.
Translation Services
ISO 17100:2015
Requirements For Translation Services
Information Security
ISO/IEC 27001:2022
Information Security Management System
Medical Devices
ISO 13485:2016
Medical Devices - Quality Management System
Quality Management
ISO 9001:2015
Quality Management System
Frequently Asked Questions
PDF remediation is the process of making an existing PDF file accessible to people who use screen readers, braille displays, and other assistive technologies. It involves building a complete tag structure, setting logical reading order, writing alternative text for images, configuring accessible form fields, and verifying conformance with standards such as Section 508, WCAG 2.1/2.2, and PDF/UA.
PDF remediation is the process; PDF accessibility is the outcome. Both terms refer to the same work: making an existing PDF usable by people who rely on screen readers and other assistive technologies.
A tagged PDF contains a hidden accessibility layer (the tag tree) that defines the structure and meaning of every element in the document. Tags tell screen readers what each piece of content is: a heading, a paragraph, a list item, a table cell, an image. Without tags, a screen reader cannot interpret the document meaningfully. Proper tagging is the foundation of PDF remediation.
We remediate to Section 508, WCAG 2.1 Level AA, WCAG 2.2 Level AA, PDF/UA (ISO 14289), ADA, and the European Accessibility Act (EN 301 549), depending on your specific requirements. We confirm the applicable standard with you before work begins.
Yes. Scanned documents are image-only files with no underlying text or structure. We run OCR to generate accurate selectable text, validate the output, then proceed with full tagging and remediation. We flag any pages where OCR accuracy is insufficient before proceeding.
Yes. We remediate PDFs in 200+ languages. We can also translate and remediate in a single coordinated workflow, so the translated document is fully accessible, not just the original.
These are handled by specialist remediators experienced with complex document structures. Multi-column layouts are mapped for correct reading order. Complex tables have header relationships and scope attributes defined manually. Charts and data visualizations receive descriptive alt text that communicates the data, not just a description of the image.
A standard single business document typically takes one to three business days. Complex documents with heavy tables, forms, or multi-column layouts take longer depending on page count and complexity. Large-volume batch projects are scoped individually with agreed timelines. We work to your schedule.
You receive the fully remediated, screen-reader-tested PDF along with a remediation summary documenting the work completed and the compliance standard achieved. For ongoing or high-volume engagements, we maintain document profiles to accelerate future updates.
Yes. We are ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified for information security and operate under strict data handling protocols. We work under NDA and routinely handle sensitive content for government, legal, financial, and healthcare clients globally.