PDF Validate

What is PDF Validate?

PDF Validate helps you test PDFs for accessibility issues before they go live on your website. Upload your PDFs, and you’ll get instant accessibility insights. This allows you to fix accessibility problems early, saving you time and preventing the need for later rework.  

Why use PDF Validate?

Accessible PDFs are becoming increasingly important, especially with the implementation of regulations like the EAA and ADA.

PDF Validate helps you:

• Find accessibility issues before your PDFs are uploaded to your website.
• Delegate the responsibility of PDF accessibility by sharing the results easily with colleagues.
• Reduce the risk of inaccessible PDFs.
• Save time by fixing the issue while working on the PDF instead of after publication

Where do I find PDF Validate?

You can access PDF Validate directly in the platform: Accessibility > PDFs > PDF Validate. If you can't see the new feature, it is because your Siteimprove user was custom made by your Account Administrator or Account Owner. They can grant PDF Validate permissions to your user via Settings > Users > Roles.

How does PDF Validate fit with PDF Audit?

PDF Audit shows you the PDFs that Siteimprove automatically discovers on your website. PDF Validate, on the other hand, is designed for PDFs that aren’t on your site yet. Think of it as your pre-publish workspace for checking accessibility early.

Key features

• Upload up to 10 PDFs per batch
• Upload as many batches as you like
• Each PDF can be up to 20 MB
• Each upload creates a personal record of every PDF you’ve tested, including:
  • File name and PDF title
  • Upload timestamp
  • Number of pages
  • File size
  • Validation status  
• Share results easily using the Copy option to generate a direct link
• Validated PDFs remain in your list permanently unless you delete them manually
• The accessibility results (PDF Report) are available for 30 days

Storage & Encryption (Information Security)

Secure Cloud Storage: All uploaded PDF files are stored in a dedicated, highly secure cloud environment.

Encryption in Transit & at Rest: Data is encrypted both in transit (using industry-standard TLS protocols) and at rest (using strong encryption algorithms), ensuring files are protected against unauthorized access at every stage.

Access Controls: Uploaded documents are treated as confidential, and access is strictly restricted based on the principle of least privilege.

GDPR & Data Privacy

Data Minimization: The feature does not collect or process any additional Personally Identifiable Information (PII) beyond what is strictly necessary to perform the validation functionality.

Purpose Limitation: Files uploaded for validation are used solely to generate your validation results and reports.

Data Retention & Deletion

Lifecycle Management: Files are governed by defined retention schedules and content removal policies to ensure data is not retained longer than necessary.

Automated Removal: Data deletion follows established lifecycle management standards, ensuring files and associated processing artifacts are permanently removed.

Different validation statuses:

• Passed: The PDF meets the PDF accessibility tests.
• Failed: The PDF did not meet the PDF accessibility tests.
• Error: The PDF was unable to be tested for accessibility.

If we were unable to test the PDF (error), please check that the file is a PDF and that it’s not encrypted (e.g. password-protected).

PDF Validate checks whether your PDF is:

• Machine-readable
• Properly tagged
• Aligned with WCAG 2 and PDF/UA

For a walkthrough of PDF Validate, access the PDF Validate in-platform tutorial.

For more details about the accessibility checks performed, you can read the full documentation here: Accessibility: What does Siteimprove check for in PDFs?