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Instantly visualise the accessibility of PDF documents

The PDF Usability Checker (PUC) is a powerful, free web-based tool that helps assess and visually inspect the accessibility of PDF documents.

PUC goes beyond technical compliance, focusing on real-world usability for screen reader users.

Check the accessibility of your PDFs

Drag and drop your PDF here

or (50 MB max)

Processing time: 1 to 15 minutes depending on the file size.

In a hurry? Enter your email at the next step to receive the result by email.

The PUC tool

PDF Usability Checker, an HTML rendering of the tagging

PUC is your go‑to tool for a visual, human‑readable check of PDF structure and tag usability. It won't fix your PDF automatically, but it shines in making accessibility issues understandable and fixable, especially after a technical pass by automated checkers.

When paired with remediation (manual or AI‑powered) and a PAC validation, it boosts both compliance and actual user experience.

PUC preview: a PDF rendered as HTML, with its tags (heading level 1, paragraph, figure) highlighted by colored labels

What does PUC do?

  • Converts your PDF into an interactive HTML rendering, showcasing each accessibility tag (e.g., H1, P, LI, Table) in color-coded borders and background for clarity.
  • Allows you to manually inspect the document’s tagging structure, reading order, and overall accessibility setup.
HTML rendering

Why is PUC useful?

  • Usability

    Helps detect real-world usability issues in PDF accessibility tags like headings that are incorrectly structured or list items that don’t flow logically.

  • Visual debugging

    Tag types are highlighted with different colors, so you can quickly isolate issues like out-of-order tags or misapplied structures.

  • User guidance

    Through a clear HTML representation, it empowers users (even non-experts) to understand what needs fixing.

PUC interface: the PDF tag structure in the left panel and the HTML rendering of the document, annotated with the H1, Figure and P tags
PDF accessibility

When and why to use PUC?

  1. If a document has passed PAC

    or equivalent, PUC can be used to ensure the document is truly usable and not just technically compliant.

  2. Ideal for organizations

    needing accessible PDFs for legal, educational, or public communication.

  3. Especially helpful

    for non-technical users needing a clear, visual verification before remediation.

Did you know?

PDFs, the blind spot of digital accessibility

PDF documents flood websites: market studies, financial reports, expert reports...

These documents, when not accessible, form barriers for disabled people: their assistive tools incorrectly relay or fail to relay the information, preventing access and comprehension.

According to DREES census data from 2024, 17% of the French population lives with a disability, totalling 11 million individuals affected by this issue.

Only correct tagging ensures compatibility with external assistive tools, providing access to information and autonomy for all users.

Learn more
Method

How to use PDF Usability Checker?

  1. Upload your PDF

    up to 50 MB

  2. Instantly view

    the PDF document converted into HTML

  3. Easily check

    each element through tagging highlights associated with a compliance checker

  4. Fix

    issues manually using tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro

  5. Re-run PUC

    to ensure proper tagging after corrections

  6. Validate

    final compliance with PAC

Results

Concrete examples of results achieved

  • Simplified verification

    Tags such as headings (H1, H2, etc.), paragraphs (P), and image alt texts are easily identified through color coding based on category.

  • Quick error detection

    Thanks to color-coded tags and a reading order that is accurately rendered, users can quickly spot necessary corrections or tagging errors.

Carousel-type document and its tagging via PDF Usability Checker

Page 2 of a French-language carousel, white text on a dark blue background: a bulleted list about mobility, whose first item, stating that 1 in 3 French people has already turned down a job opportunity for lack of a way to get to work, is outlined with a red dashed border.
Visualisation of a carousel-type document
The same page rendered as HTML by PUC: each block is outlined with its tag label (H1, H2, P). The bulleted list text, outlined with a red dashed border, is labelled P.
Visualisation of this carousel via PDF Usability Checker. Here, the bulleted lists on page 2 are identified as paragraphs (P) rather than as list items (LI).

Study-type document and its tagging via PDF Usability Checker

Cover of a French-language study on the online presence of construction professionals in 2024, with its "sector study" label outlined with a red dashed border.
Visualisation of the original sector study document
The cover rendered as HTML by PUC: the "sector study" label is tagged P and outlined with a red dashed border. On the right, the analysis report shows the "non-compliant PDF" verdict, also outlined.
PDF Usability Checker visualisation indicates, for example, that the sector study is tagged as paragraph (P, in green) instead of heading (H2 or H3). PDF Usability Checker also offers immediate visualisation of non-compliance in red on the right.
PDF Accessible Platform

PDF Usability Checker and PDF Accessible Platform: the perfect combination

Ipedis’s flagship solution, PDF Accessible Platform, quickly and easily automates accessibility remediation of your existing PDF documents using AxessTag AI, our patented proprietary artificial intelligence.

Combine PDF Usability Checker with PDF Accessible Platform to automate accessibility remediation of your existing PDFs and benefit from a comprehensive process, from initial verification to final validation.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions