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Simkins and Elgazar

Title II PDFs: What to Fix, Archive, or Delete

Maximilian Simkins, Simkins & Elgazar
ADA Title IIPDF accessibilityWCAG 2.1state and local government

Under the Title II web rule, any PDF your government posts or makes available after your compliance date has to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. PDFs posted before that date are exempt, unless people currently use them to apply for, gain access to, or take part in your services, programs or activities. So fix what people use to get a service, archive history that meets all four parts of the archive definition, and stop publishing new inaccessible files.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Which date counts as "before"?

The exception looks at your own compliance date, set in 28 CFR 35.200(b). That is April 26, 2027 for a public entity with a total population of 50,000 or more (other than a special district government), and April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and all special districts. A PDF is "preexisting" if you made it available before your date.

Our deadlines post covers how to find which date applies to you.

Which files does the PDF rule cover?

The rule uses the term "conventional electronic documents." Under 28 CFR 35.104 that means PDF, word processor, presentation and spreadsheet files. The same sorting logic applies to a Word file or an Excel sheet on your site, not just PDFs.

Which old PDFs are exempt?

Under 28 CFR 35.201(b), a conventional electronic document is exempt if it was available before your compliance date, unless it is "currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in" your services, programs or activities.

DOJ's preamble calls this a fact-specific question and gives examples:

  • A PDF form that must be filled out and submitted to renew a driver's license is currently used, so it is not exempt.
  • A preexisting PDF application for a business license generally must conform if it is still in use. So must the instructions, manuals, sample knowledge tests and Q&A documents someone would need to complete the application or understand the process.
  • A document describing a city park and its accessibility features likely is not exempt, because someone may read it before visiting to learn whether they can get in.
  • DOJ's example of a likely exempt file is a university athletics team schedule PDF from the 2017-2018 season, posted well before the deadline and not used to get a service.

The preamble also says "currently used" covers documents used at any point going forward, not only on the day the rule was published.

What happens when you edit an old PDF?

It stops being preexisting. DOJ says a document you revise after your compliance date no longer qualifies. Its example is a benefits form where someone updates the header with a new mailing address while moving it to a new content management system. Moving a file untouched does not change its status.

Anything you post new after your date is covered from day one.

DOJ also says an entity may not convert web content to PDFs before the deadline to avoid the rule. If any of those files are currently used to get a service, they still have to conform.

When can a PDF go into an archive?

Archived web content is exempt under 35.201(a), and a file moved into a qualifying archive does not need to conform even if it fails the other exception. The definition in 35.104 has four parts, and the content must meet all of them:

  1. It was created before your compliance date, or reproduces paper documents or other physical media created before that date.
  2. It is retained exclusively for reference, research or recordkeeping.
  3. It has not been altered or updated since it was archived.
  4. It is organized and stored in a dedicated area or areas clearly identified as archived.

A folder called "Archive" does not qualify on its own. DOJ's example is a recycling-schedule flyer posted after the compliance date. Even moved into an archive after the holiday passes, it would not meet the first part of the definition, so it still has to conform.

Two more points from the preamble. Pages that tell people the archive exists and link to its contents are not themselves archived, so they must conform. Link text in the archive list needs to make sense under WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.4 (Link Purpose, In Context). And a file in the archive that is currently used for something other than reference, research or recordkeeping does not qualify.

What about deleting a PDF?

The rule applies to content you "provide or make available" (35.200(a)). A file you have taken down is no longer provided. Whether you may delete it is a records-retention question under your own state and local law, which this article does not cover. Check with your records officer first.

Does an exempt PDF still have to be accessible to anyone who asks?

Possibly. DOJ states that an exception from WCAG 2.1 does not remove your existing obligations under Title II, including effective communication (28 CFR 35.160). Its example: a person with low vision asks for archived 2011 town meeting minutes in an accessible form. The town must still address the request, and a large-print copy might be enough in some cases, while other cases need a version that conforms to the relevant parts of WCAG 2.1 AA.

DOJ also suggests, as a way to help, an accessibility statement and a contact route for reporting problems.

How do you sort a PDF inventory?

Work down this list for each file, and stop at the first row that fits.

| Question | Result | |---|---| | Was it posted or edited after your compliance date? | Must conform to WCAG 2.1 AA | | Is it used to apply for, get, or take part in a service, program or activity, or does it give instructions for one? | Fix it | | Does it meet all four parts of the archived web content definition, in a clearly labeled archive? | Archive it | | Is it preexisting and not used for any service? | Exempt, so fix, archive or remove it as resources allow |

What does "fix" mean for a PDF?

Test each file against the WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA criteria. W3C's PDF techniques give concrete targets:

  • Images have text alternatives (SC 1.1.1, technique PDF1).
  • Tables use real table markup (SC 1.3.1, PDF6) and headings are tagged as headings (PDF9).
  • Form fields have a name, role and value a screen reader can read (SC 4.1.2, PDF12).
  • The document has a title (SC 2.4.2, PDF18) and a default language (SC 3.1.1, PDF16).
  • Reading order makes sense when the file is read aloud (SC 1.3.2, Meaningful Sequence).

An automated check can flag missing tags. A person has to judge whether an alt text says anything useful and whether the reading order is right.

What does enforcement over PDFs look like?

This is a public case, not one of our engagements. In a December 2016 resolution agreement, Montclair State University agreed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to audit its online content against WCAG 2.0 Level AA and fix what the audit found within 24 months of the corrective plan's approval. The agreement set a cutoff for documents: PowerPoint, Word and PDF files published before January 1, 2012 did not have to be audited or fixed up front. But the university agreed to remediate any of them within 48 hours of a user's request, or in some other reasonable time if that was not possible, and to post a way to ask. The Title II rule draws a similar line: older documents are exempt unless people still use them to apply for, get access to or take part in a service, and those have to meet WCAG 2.1 AA.

If you want an independent baseline on the pages and documents that matter most, see our accessibility audit service.

Sources

  • 28 CFR 35.200 (web and mobile accessibility; compliance dates): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.200
  • 28 CFR 35.104 (definitions of archived web content, conventional electronic documents): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.104
  • 28 CFR 35.201 (exceptions): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.201
  • DOJ final rule and preamble, 89 FR 31320 (Apr. 24, 2024), doc. 2024-07758, sections on 35.201(a) and (b) and the 35.104 definitions: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/24/2024-07758/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web-information-and-services-of-state
  • ADA.gov, Web Rule: First Steps (preexisting documents, archive example): https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-rule-first-steps/
  • ADA.gov, Fact sheet on the web rule: https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/
  • U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, Resolution Agreement, Montclair State University, Case No. 02-16-2267 (signed 12/16/2016): https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/investigations/more/02162267-b.pdf
  • W3C, WCAG 2.1: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
  • W3C PDF techniques: PDF1 https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/pdf/PDF1.html, PDF6 https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/pdf/PDF6.html, PDF9 https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/pdf/PDF9.html, PDF12 https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/pdf/PDF12.html, PDF16 https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/pdf/PDF16.html, PDF18 https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/pdf/PDF18.html
  • W3C Understanding docs: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/non-text-content.html, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/info-and-relationships.html, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/name-role-value.html, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/meaningful-sequence.html, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/page-titled.html, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/language-of-page.html, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/link-purpose-in-context.html

Note: eCFR (ecfr.gov) blocked automated fetches on 2026-10-01; section text was read from Cornell LII mirrors and cross-checked against the codified text printed in the Federal Register rule. Re-check ecfr.gov before publishing.