Title & Hierarchy: Use a Heading 1 for the document title and maintain a sequential heading hierarchy (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3) without skipping levels.

Built-in Styles: Apply Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3 from the Styles gallery on the Home tab. Never create headings by manually bolding or enlarging plain text.

Font Type: Author with accessible sans-serif fonts (e.g. Arial, Calbri, Helvetica). 

Font Size & Spacing: Use an 11 pt. or larger font size, set appropriate line spacing. use the paragraph mark "P" Symbol to identify extra spaces, and adjust extra line spaces.

Image Descriptions: Describe the image by adding a text description. Right-click on the image, select view alt-text and then add a 1-2 sentence descripting the purpose of the image.

Decorative Content: Images that are non-informative can be marked as decorative. Mark an image as decorative by selecting the image, right-click and select the box next to Mark as decorative.

Descriptive links: Create link that indicates the destination and purpose (e.g. Visit the Office of Digital Accessibility for resources). Create a descriptive link by highlighting descriptive text, right-click and select Link and paste the link into the address field. Verify the link will direct to the resource.

Color Contrast: Maintain high contrast such as dark text on light background. Verify color contrast with the WebAim Color Contrast Checker. Adjust the color of text or background as needed.

Reserve Tables for Data Only: Use tables (Insert > Table) exclusively for tabular data—never as a tool for visual page layout.

Enable Header Rows: Select the top row of your table, go to Table Design, and check Header Row. Under Layout (or Table Layout on Mac), select Repeat Header Rows.

Keep Table Structure Simple: Do not merge or split cells. Fill blank cells with "N/A" or "No data" so screen readers don't get disoriented.

Use Native Lists: Generate lists using the Bullets or Numbering tools under the Home tab. Adjust nesting with Increase Indent / Decrease Indent rather than typing manual symbols or spaces.

Run the Accessibility Checker: Go to Review > Check Accessibility. Resolve any identified errors (such as missing alt text).

Manually Review: Review the document to verify the reading order is correct, concise descriptions are applied to images, and color is high contrast.

Document Metadata:  Add a descriptive document title document title and specify the primary language in the file properties before saving. Select the File, Info, and then select Advanced Properties, type a simple title for the document in the Title field.

Export to Tagged PDF:

PC: Go to File > Save As, choose PDF, and select "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility".

Mac: Go to File > Save As (or Export), select PDF, and choose "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility (uses Microsoft online service)".

Do Not Use Print to PDF: Avoid using the print to PDF function, as all of the accessibility tags will be removed.