Skip to main content

Correct Color Contrast in PDFs using Adobe Pro: 2026 Title II Compliance Guide

October 8, 2025
Author: AccessAbility Officer

To achieve compliance with the new Title II regulations under the ADA, all small text, large text, and designs in PDF files must meet minimal color contrast guidelines.

With over 50 success criteria for every government website, app, and PDF, achieving Title II compliance under the ADA is a difficult and frustrating challenge for cities, counties, and government agencies across the United States. Especially for those who produce a lot of PDFs on a regular basis.

Believe me, we know. AccessAbility Officer helps cities, counties, and state government solve these Title II ADA compliance challenges across websites, mobile apps, and PDFs. Learn about Accessibility Management here.

Upskilling teams and enabling government to be Title II compliant under the ADA is core to our business model. Here’s how to use color contrast to improve accessibility, usability, and readability of your PDFs for residents with disabilities.

How to Ensure Color Contrast Meets Readability Standards

  1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

    In the left-hand pane or top menu, click on All Tools.

    Screenshot of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC showing “All tools” selected in the left menu, with an orange arrow pointing to the option “Prepare for accessibility.” Demonstrates how to open the accessibility tools panel.

  2. Find “Prepare for Accessibility”

    Scroll through the tools list or use the search bar to locate Prepare for Accessibility.

    Select "Prepare for Accessibility" and then “Check for accessibility.”

    Screenshot of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC highlighting “Prepare for accessibility” in the left-hand menu. Shows the path to access Acrobat’s accessibility tools used for ADA Title II compliance checks.

  3. Click “Start Checking” in the Accessibility Checker Options pop-up modal

    When the Accessibility Checker Options window appears, under Document, look for " Contrast (Minimum).”

    Then select Start Checking.

    If issues are found, Acrobat will list them in the report.

    Screenshot of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC with an orange arrow pointing to “Check for accessibility” under the “Prepare for accessibility” tools list. Demonstrates how to start an accessibility scan in a PDF file.

  4. Review the Results for “Contrast (Minimum)”

    In the results panel, look under Document → Contrast (Minimum).

    If issues are found, they will be listed in the report. Review each flagged element. If needed, adjust colors in the source file.

    AccessAbility Pro Tip: Adobe’s checker may not catch all contrast issues, especially those within images. So, you need to review those manually to ensure ADA compliance.

    Screenshot of the Accessibility Checker Options dialog in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, with “Start Checking” highlighted by an orange arrow. Shows how to begin checking color contrast and document accessibility.

  5. Use the Color Contrast Analyzer and Test

    Color Contrast Analyzer will help you test the foreground (the text) and the background colors to ensure they meet minimal contrast ratios for ADA compliance.

    Note that contrast ratios are greater for normal sized text than for large text. Because of its size, smaller “normal” text is harder to read, therefore the contrast ratio is greater.

    The contrast ratio for normal text is 4.5:1

    The contrast ratio for large text is 3:1.

    Text is considered “large” if it is 18pt or larger. However, if the text is bolded, it is considered “large” at 14pt.

    Screenshot of the Colour Contrast Analyser (CCA) tool displaying failed WCAG 2.1 results for regular and large text, with an orange arrow pointing to the failure result. Demonstrates testing contrast ratios between yellow (#FFFF6B) text and a white (#FFFFFF) background.

    Download the free Color Contrast Analyzer (CCA) for Windows or Mac.

    Free CCA for Windows Download

    Free CCA for Mac Download

How Do City and State Governments Comply with Title II Under the ADA for PDFs?

For PDF accessibility, cities and state agencies have to paths they can take to achieve Title II compliance under the ADA.

  1. Begin updating processes, upskilling teams, and upgrading technology needed to scale PDF accessibility.

    You can get started here with PDF Accessibility Simplified-Phase 1.

  2. Partner with a team who specializes in Accessibility Management for City and State Governments. 

    We know. It’s frustrating. It’s confusing. And ADA Compliance can quickly get overwhelming.

    Learn how AccessAbility Officer provides Accessibility Management for cities and local state governments providing services to over 35 million residents in the United States.

AccessAbility Officer
Ability Is Our Middle Name!

Like this article? Share it!

Join our Newsletter