By Ferass Elrayes, CTO, Allyant
PDFs are everywhere.
They are often used by governments to deliver critical information, how schools share curriculum, how healthcare organizations communicate with patients, and how financial institutions provide statements, disclosures, and documentation. PDFs often represent the final, official version of information—the format people are expected to rely on when information matters. But here’s the problem: for many people with disabilities reliant upon assistive technology, PDFs are also one of the most persistent digital barriers.
For years, those of us working in accessibility have understood this anecdotally. We’ve seen the challenges organizations face. We’ve helped remediate the backlogs. We’ve built tools and workflows to improve outcomes. But until now, there hasn’t been a clear, data-backed picture of how accessible—or inaccessible—public-facing PDFs really are across industries.
That’s why Allyant created the PDF Accessibility Index.
Why the Index?
The accessibility conversation has matured significantly over the past decade. Websites and applications receive growing scrutiny, regulations are evolving, and organizations are investing in digital accessibility programs. Yet one major area has largely remained under-measured—PDFs.
PDFs often sit at the intersection of content, compliance, and communication. They are high-impact, high-volume, and often highly regulated. And yet, for many organizations, document accessibility remains reactive—something addressed after a complaint, an audit, or a lawsuit.
We wanted to change that dynamic.
The PDF Accessibility Index was designed to answer a simple but critical question:
What is the real, measurable state of PDF accessibility in the public digital ecosystem today?
To find out, we conducted large-scale scanning across hundreds of public-facing websites, analyzing nearly 645,000 PDFs—representing more than 15 million pages of content—across key industries including education, government, healthcare, financial services, insurance, legal / compliance, and utilities.
The goal was not to single out organizations or name and shame. It was to establish a general baseline—a benchmark the market has never had before.
Why Now?
Timing is everything.
Accessibility expectations are rising across the board. Regulatory frameworks are evolving. Procurement standards increasingly require demonstrable accessibility. And in the U.S. with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II deadlines, 2026 represents a significant milestone for compliance enforcement and digital accessibility readiness, particularly for public entities and the organizations that serve them.
At the same time, the volume of digital documents continues to increase. Forms, applications, policies, statements, instructions, notices—many of the most critical interactions people have with institutions still happen through PDF.
If those documents are not accessible, the consequences are real. People may not be able to apply for benefits, complete school requirements, understand medical instructions, or review financial obligations independently.
High-Level Analysis
After months of scanning, the results are sobering. But they are also clarifying.
Across industries, we found that inaccessible PDFs remain the norm, not the exception—scanning has revealed just 5% of PDFs are considered “usable,” while significantly fewer—less than 1% would be considered accessible—that is, passing all automated accessibility tests.
In some sectors like government and education, the gap between where we are and where we need to be is especially stark. In others like healthcare, we see signs of progress—proof that better outcomes are possible.
Perhaps most importantly, the most common failing issues we identified are repeatable across industries, but not highly technical. They are foundational: document structure, headings, metadata, table associations, link descriptions. These are the building blocks that make content navigable for assistive technology users—and they are precisely the areas where proper work on the front end, not just reactive remediation, can make the biggest difference.
How to use the Data
We hope you’ll leverage The PDF Accessibility Index not just as a report—but as a strategic tool.
Whether you’re leading an accessibility program, managing compliance risk, or responsible for digital content at scale, this data can help you:
- Benchmark your current state: Understanding how your organization compares to broader industry trends provides context for internal conversations, investment decisions, and prioritization.
- Focus on high-impact improvements: By identifying the most common and systemic failures, organizations can target the areas that will yield the greatest accessibility gains for the largest number of users.
- Turn insight into action: Use these findings to set measurable goals, track progress over time, and embed accessibility into your organization’s long-term digital strategy.
A Catalyst, not a Criticism
Let me be clear: this report is not about criticism.
Most organizations are not failing because they don’t care. They are navigating complex systems, decentralized publishing environments, legacy templates, and limited visibility into document accessibility at scale.
But now we have something we didn’t have before: a shared, data-driven starting point.
My hope is that the PDF Accessibility Index will serves as a catalyst for change—helping organizations understand their benchmark, to measure meaningful steps forward.
Because accessibility is not a feature.
It’s not an add-on.
It’s access.
And for millions of people, that access begins with the PDF we produce.
