PDF Triage – bulk PDF accessibility checker helps the people who manage public documents answer one question fast: how big is our PDF accessibility backlog, and where do we start?
What it does
You drop a folder of PDFs. PDF Triage runs 16 automated checks on every file – scanned/image-only pages, tags and structure, headings, tables, figure alternate text, document title, language, forms, bookmarks, tab order and security settings – and sorts each file into scanned, untagged, needs fixes, quick fix or passes. It then estimates the remediation effort and a vendor quote at the per-page rate you enter.
Who it is for
Web and document managers at U.S. cities, counties, school districts, public colleges, libraries and special districts – including Puerto Rico – working toward the ADA Title II web rule dates (April 26, 2027 and April 26, 2028), and the agencies and contractors who quote remediation for them.
How it works
- Everything runs in your browser with open-source libraries: pdf.js to read PDFs and pdf-lib to write metadata fixes.
- Your PDFs are never uploaded. The site’s Content-Security-Policy only allows network requests back to pdftriage.dev itself (and Cloudflare’s analytics beacon), and the app only requests its own scripts and sample files.
- Free: up to 10 PDFs per batch. Pro: a one-time US$29 payment through Stripe for unlimited batches, CSV export, a printable report and batch metadata fixes.
What it does not do
PDF Triage is an automated pre-check. It does not certify WCAG, PDF/UA or ADA compliance and is not legal advice. Reading order, the quality of alternate text, color contrast and table meaning still need a person. The batch fix only changes document-level settings and never invents tags or alternate text.
Not to be confused with
“PDFTriage” is also the name of a 2023 Adobe Research paper about question answering over long documents. PDF Triage (pdftriage.dev) is an independent product and is not affiliated with Adobe.
Who makes it
PDF Triage is built and maintained by an independent software developer based in the Dominican Republic. Questions and feedback: @smoketesting on X.