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PDF Accessibility Simplified: Phase 2 Complex Tables and Forms

September 5, 2025
Author: AccessAbility Officer

Government agencies and municipalities are overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of achieving ADA compliance for all of their websites, mobile apps, and PDFs. The upcoming April 2026 deadline for the new rules for ADA compliance don’t make it any easier. But you’re not alone.

In Phase 1 of PDF Accessibility Simplified, we provided you step-by-step instructions for incorporating essential accessibility best-practices to be compliant with the new ADA compliance regulations effective April 24, 2026.

Here in Phase 2, we will be providing you step-by-step instructions for ensuring PDF accessibility and ADA compliance for more complex PDFs, like applications and forms. These applications and forms are critical for how government interacts, engages, and serves its residents. The problem with ADA compliance is that forms, interactive elements, and large data tables can create additional barriers for people with disabilities that often prevent individuals from accessing them with assistive technology like screen readers, speech navigation, and switch controls.

We understand how complex and confusing PDF accessibility can be. To make things easier, the PDF Accessibility Simplified guide is broken down into 3 manageable phases.

Table of Contents

What Are The 3 Phases of PDF Accessibility Simplified?

Phase 1: The Essentials.

Phase 1 is all about mastering the basics. The fundamentals. The essentials of accessibility. These accessibility PDF best-practices must be a part of your standardized workflows, cheat sheets, as well as incorporated into organizational onboarding and annual trainings. Accessibility is about what you do and how you do it. Phase 1 starts with these accessibility PDF essentials as they are the must-have practices needed to comply with WCAG requirements, while improving usability for screen readers and assistive technology users in the process. Every PDF your team publishes to your website should meet these minimum accessibility standards. If you missed Phase 1, you can read it here: PDF Accessibility Simplified: Phase 1 Essentials Guide

Phase 2: Complex PDF Accessibility

Now that we’re in Phase 2, we’re going to roll up our sleeves and tackle more difficult components like tables, forms, and interactive elements! Whether you’re managing a complex application, form, or internal document, Phase 2 will guide you step by step in overcoming these common accessibility challenges.

Phase 3: Business Operations and Software Platform Analysis.

What happens when accessibility violations aren’t created by your team, but the software, applications, and technology stack your organization is using? Third party tools, vendors, applications, and software are the biggest risks for ADA compliance violations. In the final phase of PDF Accessibility Simplified, we will walk you through the testing process for your technology stack to provide you direct knowledge and insight on the source of ADA compliance violations for PDFs. Many times, departments are producing PDFs with accessibility best-practices, but their third party vendor software is unknowingly introducing ADA compliance violations! You don’t want that, and neither do your residents.

Phase 2: More Advanced PDF Accessibility Components.

Ready to dive in? Let’s roll up our sleeves and get our PDF accessibility on!

How to Label Form Fields in PDFs Using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro and open the PDF file you want to convert into a fillable form.
    Screenshot of a sample PDF form titled “Sample Form” with placeholders for text field, checkboxes, and radio buttons.
  2. Click “All tools” or “Edit” to access the “Prepare a form” tool.
    PDF editor interface with the All tools option highlighted.
  3. Click “Prepare a form”; Acrobat will automatically detect form fields.
    All tools panel with the Prepare a form option highlighted.
  4. In Prepare a form view, choose your option and click “Create Form”.
    Create form screen with the selected PDF and Create form button highlighted.
  5. If no new form fields are detected, manually place fields by selecting the appropriate field type.
    Pop-up stating no new form field annotations were detected.
  6. To insert a text input, select Text Field.
    Form editing view with a text field added next to the Text field label.
  7. To insert a checkbox option, select Checkbox Field.
    Checkbox added next to the Checkbox 1 label.
  8. To insert a mutually exclusive option group, select Radio Button Field.
    Radio buttons added next to Radio Button 1 and Radio Button 2.
  9. Right-click the new form field and select “Properties” to set name, tooltip, appearance, and behavior.
    Context menu on a form field with Properties highlighted.
  10. In the General tab, enter a concise tooltip (what screen readers announce), e.g., “First Name,” “Email Address.”
    Text Field Properties window with Name and Tooltip fields.

How to Set Tab Order for Form Fields and Interactive Elements in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro and open the PDF you want to convert into a fillable form.
    Sample form showing text field, checkboxes, and radio buttons.
  2. Click “All tools” or “Edit” to access “Prepare a form”.
    All tools option highlighted in the top menu.
  3. Click “Prepare a form” to let Acrobat detect fields.
    Tools menu with Prepare a form highlighted.
  4. Choose your option and click “Create Form” to begin adding fields.
    Create form dialog with selected PDF and Create form button highlighted.
  5. If no fields are detected, manually place fields from the toolbar.
    Dialog: No new form field annotations were detected.
  6. In Prepare Form mode, open “More” > “Set Tab Order”.
    Tab order panel open on the right in Prepare Form mode.
  7. Choose one of the following options:
    • Order Tabs Unspecified — may follow the order fields were added.
    • Order Tabs by Structure — follows the document’s tag structure.
    • Order Tabs Manually — drag and drop fields into your desired order.
    • Order Tabs by Row — left to right, top to bottom.
    • Order Tabs by Column — top to bottom, then left to right.
    Tab order options menu with multiple choices including by structure, by row, and manual.

How to Create Accessible Tables with TH and TD Tags

  1. Open the PDF that contains (or will contain) the table.
    PDF with sample table and Accessibility Tags panel showing Document, H1, and Table.
  2. In the Accessibility Tags pane, expand <Table> and each <TR> to view contents.
    Tags panel expanded to show Table and TR rows.
  3. Verify each cell has the correct tag:
    • <TH> for header cells (column or row headers)
    • <TD> for data cells

    If incorrect, either double-click the tag to change it, or right-click > Properties.

    Cell 'Jane Doe' highlighted with a TD tag selected in the Tags panel.
  4. Open the Order pane, select the overflow menu, and choose “Show Reading Order” to check sequence.
    Order panel with Show reading order panel highlighted.
  5. In the Reading Order pop-up, select the table and click “Table Editor”.
    Reading Order panel with Table Editor highlighted; table cells outlined.
  6. Right-click a table cell and choose “Table Cell Properties”.
    Context menu inside table with Table Cell Properties selected.
  7. Set the correct Type (Header Cell or Data Cell).
    Table Cell Properties dialog with Header Cell selected.
  8. If it’s a Header Cell, set Scope (Row, Column, or Both). For merged headers, set ColSpan/RowSpan to match layout.
    Scope options showing Row, Column, Both, None.
  9. Click “OK” to save.
    OK button highlighted in Table Cell Properties dialog.
  10. Verify that the tags are correct in the Tags panel.
    Tags panel reflecting corrected table tagging.

How to Tag Document Elements Correctly in Adobe Acrobat

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro and the file you want to edit.
    PDF demo with sections, list, image placeholder, and table; Tags panel shows 'No Tags available'.
  2. Go to Tools > Accessibility, choose “Check for accessibility,” then “Start Checking,” and review results.
    Accessibility pane with Check for accessibility highlighted; results panel on the right.
  3. If there’s no tag structure, select “Autotag Document,” then open the Tags panel and verify basic elements.
    Accessibility tags panel with Autotag document option highlighted.
  4. Use the Reading Order tool to assign appropriate types (Heading 1, Text, Figure).
    Reading Order panel with content blocks outlined and roles assigned.
  5. For images, ensure <Figure> tags have descriptive Alternate Text; mark decorative images as artifacts.
    Object Properties for Figure tag with Alternate Text field.
  6. Ensure headings follow a proper hierarchy (H1, H2, H3…); adjust via tag Properties or Reading Order.
    Heading tag set to Heading Level 2 in Object Properties.
  7. Verify lists use <L>, <LI>, <Lbl>, and <LBody> correctly.
    Numbered list highlighted with corresponding list structure in Tags panel.
  8. Ensure tables have <Table>, <TR>, <TH>, and <TD>, with header scope set as needed.
    Table content highlighted with correct tags in the Tags panel.
  9. Set the document title under File > Document Properties > Description; set Initial View to display “Document Title”.
    Document Properties with Title field highlighted.
  10. In the Advanced tab, set the document language (e.g., English).
    Document Properties Advanced tab with Language field set.
  11. For multi-page PDFs, use Page Properties to set Tab Order to “Use Document Structure”.
    Page thumbnails panel with Page Properties selected.

How to Test PDFs with Screen Readers

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro and the PDF you want to test.
    PDF with a sample table open and Pages panel visible.
  2. Confirm table headers are read first; navigate with arrow keys as needed.
    Sample Table with Name, Contact Number, Email Address.
  3. Verify the next rows read in logical order with header associations.
    NVDA Speech Viewer showing table with 3 rows and 3 columns with headers.
  4. Confirm form fields are announced with their labels (e.g., “Name: edit”).
    Row with 'Jane Doe' highlighted; NVDA output shows cells announced by column.
  5. For radio buttons, confirm checked/unchecked state is announced.
    Sample form with focus in a text field; NVDA shows edit prompt.
  6. For checkboxes, ensure each option is reachable and announced:
    • Apple
    • Mango
    • Banana
    • Grapes
    Radio buttons example image (used here to illustrate interactive control reading).

Phase 2 Conclusion: Complex PDF Accessibility

Achieving ADA compliance for complex applications, forms, and other PDFs doesn’t have to overwhelm you. You now have the step-by-step instructions for incorporating PDF accessibility best-practices into your workflows, as well as how to overcome more complex PDF accessibility barriers like those found in applications and forms.

Did you know Ability is our middle name?

AccessAbility Officer specializes in helping government agencies and municipalities minimize ADA compliance risks. We help with web and PDF accessibility, automated accessibility testing, and upskilling teams with functional, hands-on trainings. Request an Accessibility Audit today. Digital Accessibility Audits

What’s in Phase 3 of PDF Accessibility Simplified?

In Phase 3 of PDF Accessibility Simplified, we are going to help you analyze the business operations and systems that may be creating and causing accessibility violations. It’s about knowing the inputs and testing the outputs. Why? Because in general, third party vendors, applications, and software systems are the biggest accessibility risks government agencies and municipalities have today.

Next week we’re releasing Phase 3 of PDF Accessibility Simplified. Subscribe to our free newsletter and get the link delivered straight to your inbox.

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