Document is image-only — no text layer

Who Is Affected

Blind and low-vision users who rely on screen readers, people who need to magnify text significantly, users with cognitive disabilities who benefit from text-to-speech functionality, and anyone trying to search or copy text from the document.

What This Means

When a document is scanned or created as an image-only PDF, it contains no actual text data — just a picture of text. Screen readers cannot "see" or interpret images of text, making the entire document inaccessible. This is equivalent to posting a photo of a printed page without any alternative text description.

Even if the document appears perfectly readable to sighted users, assistive technology treats it as a blank image. Users cannot navigate by headings, search for specific content, adjust text size, or have the content read aloud.

Fix: Document

The solution requires adding a text layer to your PDF through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or recreating the document from the source file.

Option 1: OCR the Existing PDF

1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro (not Reader).
2. Go to Tools → Enhance Scans → Recognize Text.
3. Select "In This File" and click "Recognize Text."
4. Choose language settings and let Acrobat process the entire document.
5. Review the OCR results — check for errors in text recognition, especially:
   • Numbers that became letters (0 vs O, 1 vs l)
   • Special characters or symbols
   • Table data alignment
6. Manually correct any OCR errors using the "Edit PDF" tool.
7. Add proper document structure (headings, lists, tables) using the Tags panel.
8. Run the Accessibility Checker (Tools → Accessibility → Full Check) to identify remaining issues.

Option 2: Recreate from Source

If you have the original Word document, presentation, or other source file:

1. Open the source file and ensure it follows accessibility best practices:
   • Use proper heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.)
   • Include alt text for images
   • Use built-in table formatting
   • Ensure sufficient color contrast
2. Export to PDF using the accessible PDF options:
   • Word: File → Export → Create PDF/XPS → Options → check "Document structure tags for accessibility"
   • PowerPoint: File → Export → Create PDF/XPS → Options → check "Document structure tags for accessibility"
3. Test the resulting PDF with a screen reader or accessibility checker.

Quality Check

After either approach:

1. Test with PAC 2024 (free PDF accessibility checker) to verify the text layer is present.
2. Try selecting and copying text from various parts of the document.
3. Use a screen reader (Windows Narrator, NVDA, or JAWS) to verify content is announced properly.
4. Check that document structure allows logical navigation by headings and sections.

Standard Reference

PDF Accessibility Standards

While not tied to a specific WCAG criterion, image-only PDFs fail multiple accessibility requirements including perceivable content and proper document structure.

• PDF Technique PDF7 — Performing OCR on a scanned PDF document
• PDF Technique PDF16 — Setting the default language for a PDF document
• WCAG Failure F72 — Failure due to using ASCII art