How to maintain an accessible PDF reading order?

Creating accessible PDFs is an important facet of web accessibility. Mostly, organizations pay attention to PDFs’ alt text, tags, and contrast. However, one of the most overlooked - but impactful - elements is its reading order. A correct reading order ensures that screen readers, keyboard-only users, and assistive technologies can interpret the content in a clear and logical sequence. When reading order breaks, the user experience collapses - causing confusion, misinterpretation, and abandonment.

This guide provides a detailed explanation of PDF reading order.

Why reading order is critical in PDF accessibility?

A PDF may appear visually organized, but assistive technologies rely on the document’s tagging structure - not visual position. Maintaining an accessible PDF is a critical and inevitable task. If tags are misaligned or absent:

• Screen readers read content out of sequence.
• Headings and paragraphs get jumbled.
• Data tables become meaningless.
• Users need to work harder to understand the message.

Correct PDF reading order ensures that the content flows top to bottom, left to right, following natural human reading patterns.

What are the common problems that break the PDF reading order?

Even a carefully designed document can develop reading order issues, especially after conversion from Word, InDesign, Google Docs, or PowerPoint.

Some frequent issues include:

• Incorrect tag hierarchy

Headings tagged as paragraphs, images tagged as headings, or missing section labels often create chaos in reading order. Please note, PDF tagging plays a vital role in its accessibility.

• Floating elements

Callout boxes, pull quotes, and sidebars often drift into the reading sequence unexpectedly.

• Decorative elements treated as real content

Lines, shapes, icons, and background graphics often end up in the reading order, creating trouble for assistive tech users.

• Complex layouts

Multi-column layouts, tables nested in text, and magazine-style formats often lead to mis-tagged sequences after export.

How to maintain correct reading order in PDFs?

Here is a step-by-step roadmap to ensure that PDFs maintain a clear, accessible reading flow.

• Start with an accessible source file

90% of reading-order issues begin in the source document.

Best practices:

• Use built-in headings (H1, H2, etc.) rather than manually styling text.
• Insert images with proper alt text - not floating visuals.
• Avoid unnecessary text boxes.
• Use tables only for data, not layout.
• Maintain clean, linear document flow.

When the source file is clean, the exported PDF has a structurally sound reading order.

• Always export to a Tagged PDF

When saving as a PDF from any authoring tool:

• Enable “Create Tagged PDF” or “Include structure tags”.
• Avoid printing to PDF - it strips all tags.
• Use Save As PDF or Export PDF, not Print.

Tagged PDFs preserve the structure and help assistive technologies understand content flow.

• Use Adobe Acrobat Pro’s reading tool

Once the PDF is exported, fine-tune the reading sequence in Adobe Acrobat Pro.



Steps to improve reading order:

• Open Accessibility Tool
• Select Reading Order
• Adobe Acrobat highlights content blocks.
• Drag to reorder them logically.
• Ensure each block is tagged correctly (Text, Heading, Figure, Table)


This allows organizations to visually map how screen readers will traverse the content.

• Review the Tags Tree carefully

The Tags Pane is the backbone of PDF accessibility.

Check for:

• Correct heading levels (H1 - H2 - H3)

• Paragraphs tagged as <P>
• Figures tagged as <Figure> with alt text.
• Lists tagged properly (<L>, <LI>)
• Tables built with <Table>, <TR>, <TH>, <TD>

Remove unnecessary tags or create missing ones to ensure logical sequence.

• Fix multi-column or complex layouts

If a document uses multi-column layouts:

• Ensure columns follow natural reading order.
• Adjust tags so the flow moves from the end of column 1 to top of column 2.
• Break tables or graphics that disrupt the reading sequence.

Assistive technology does not inherently understand visual columns - it relies solely on tags.

• Mark decorative elements correctly

Anything that doesn’t add meaning should be tagged as Artifact, Background, or Marked as decorative (in the figure tag settings). This keeps them out of the reading order and reduces noise for screen readers.

• Test the Reading Order using a screen reader

Before publishing:

• Test with NVDA (free), JAWS, or VoiceOver.
• Press the down arrow to follow the reading sequence.
• Verify headings, paragraphs, tables, and lists are read in logical flow.
• Ensure no text gets skipped or read twice.

Human review always catches issues automation misses.

• Use Acrobat’s Read Out Loud with caution

“Read Out Loud” in Acrobat is not an accurate representation of screen reader behavior. Use it only as a quick preliminary check – not as a final verification tool.

• Re-check reading order after making design edits

If an organization adds or moves images, text boxes, headings, page numbers, and watermarks, the reading order can break. Always run a fresh check after any modification.

• Automate quality checks for large-scale PDFs

For enterprises dealing with thousands of PDFs:

• Use batch processing in Acrobat.
• Leverage AI-driven remediation platforms.
• Integrate accessibility checks into the document management systems.
• Maintain templates that preserve the correct reading order.

This ensures long-term accessibility consistency.

Read more: VPAT requirements in the SaaS accessibility

In a nutshell,

Reading order is the foundation of an accessible PDF!

A well-maintained reading order isn’t just a technical requirement - it’s an user experience necessity.

When the reading order is clean and logical, PDFs become more understandable, usable, and inclusive for everyone, especially users relying on assistive technologies.

By following the steps outlined - starting with a clean source file, ensuring proper tagging, reviewing the tags tree, and testing with screen readers - organizations create PDFs that deliver a smooth, meaningful reading experience for all.

An accessible PDF reading order plays a key role in how users with assistive technologies experience digital documents. We help organizations to review, structure, and remediate PDFs accessibility to improve usability and align with WCAG and PDF/UA standards. From tagged PDFs to screen reader testing, the focus stays on user experience and accessibility. Reach out hello@skynettechnologies.com to make PDF content clearer, more inclusive, and easier to navigate for every user.